Ishmael
Americannoun
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(in the Bible) the son of Abraham and Hagar: both he and Hagar were cast out of Abraham's family by Sarah.
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any outcast.
noun
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the son of Abraham and Hagar, Sarah's handmaid: the ancestor of 12 Arabian tribes (Genesis 21:8–21; 25:12–18)
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a bandit chieftain, who defied the Babylonian conquerors of Judah and assassinated the governor appointed by Nebuchadnezzar (II Kings 25:25; Jeremiah 40:13–41:18)
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rare an outcast
Etymology
Origin of Ishmael
From Hebrew Yishmāʿēl “God will hear”
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Martin Koopman and Ishmael Asad both hold tokenized stocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Felix Salmon, Elizabeth Spiers, and guest host Stacy-Marie Ishmael discuss the Milan-based company’s strategy and unexpected success.
From Slate ● Jul. 11, 2026
It reenacts the Prophet Abraham's stoning of the devil at three places where Satan is said to have tried to dissuade him from obeying God's command to sacrifice his son Ishmael.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
That product made a “big splash,” said Ishmael Asad, a research analyst at Bitwise, in an interview.
From MarketWatch ● May 20, 2026
His legs were only partly in the water, and Ishmael could see plainly where one of them had come off and was moving with the undulations of the surf.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
