Navajo

American  

[nav-uh-hoh, nah-vuh-] / ˈnæv əˌhoʊ, ˈnɑ və- /

Or Navaho

noun

• Navajos,
  plural
• Navajoes,
  plural
• Navajo
  plural

1. Also called Diné. a member of the most populous nation of the southern division of Athabascan Native Americans, located in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, and now constituting the largest tribal group in the United States.

2. the Athabascan language of the Navajo.

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adjective

1. Also of, relating to, or characteristic of the Navajo, their language, or their culture.

   a Navajo blanket.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Navajo
  plural
• Navajoes
  plural
• Navajos
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of Navajo

First recorded in 1800–10; from American Spanish Apaches de Nabajú “Apaches of Nabajú” (Navajo and several Apachean languages are mutually intelligible), originally a place name applied to the Largo Canyon region of the Four Corners area of northwest New Mexico, from Tewa navahu “large arroyo with cultivated fields”; see also Diné ( def. )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Navajo Navajoes Navajos

Closer to Lake Powell, the Drought Severity Evaluation Tool, co-developed with the Navajo Nation, allows leaders to track localized drought indicators, precipitation patterns, and vegetation health across tribal lands.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026

In addition to San Diego County, its partners include the California Department of Public Health, the Navajo Nation and organizations across the broader Insight Net network.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026

Nearly everything in her apartment is secondhand, from the vintage Audubon prints arranged salon-style in the living room to the Navajo rugs and David Shrigley print she found at a garage sale.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

“In the beginning there was nothing but Spider Woman,” say Navajo and Pueblo elders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

They were staying on as instructors for the next group of Navajo recruits.

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac

Some carried, instead of the pictured serape, the blanket of the Navajoes, with its broad black stripes.

From The Scalp Hunters by F.A. Stewart

Although these tribes are known by many different names, such as "Shoshones," "Bonacks," "Utahs," "Lipans," "Apaches," "Navajoes," "Pawnee Picts," "Camanches," or "Cayguas," they vary but little in their general habits of life.

From Seven and Nine years Among the Camanches and Apaches An Autobiography by Clark Johnson M.D.

The twenty were soon selected; and, stepping out on the open ground, as the Navajoes had done, we piled our rifles in the presence of the enemy.

From The Scalp Hunters by F.A. Stewart

Four of the Danites held the passage against a hundred warriors, and the Navajoes were repulsed.

From Frank Merriwell's Bravery by Burt L. Standish

We are the children of Montezuma; we are Navajoes.

From The Scalp Hunters by F.A. Stewart

The tribal official urged Navajos to carry state-issued identification or their “Certificate of Indian blood.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026

It also wasn’t broadly supported by Navajos and Hopis who saw negotiations as secretive, leading to a loose effort to recall then-Navajo President Ben Shelly and then-Hopi Chairman LeRoy Shingoitewa.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 28, 2024

The Navajos gradually let Kawano into their world.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2024

“The Navajos do not contend that the United States has interfered with their access to water,” he wrote.

From New York Times ● Jun. 22, 2023

Poor as we were, we Navajos really did want to help.

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac

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