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• Afro
  Afro

  noun

  a hairstyle originating with Black people, in which naturally curly or frizzy hair is cut into a full, bushy shape all over the head.
• Afro-
  Afro-

  a combining form of Africa.

Afro

¹ American  

[af-roh] / ˈæf roʊ /

noun

Afros plural

1. a hairstyle originating with Black people, in which naturally curly or frizzy hair is cut into a full, bushy shape all over the head.

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adjective

1. of or relating to African Americans or to Black traditions, culture, etc..

   Afro societies.

Afro- ² American  

1. a combining form of Africa.

   Afro-American; Afro-Asiatic.

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Afro ¹ British  

/ ˈæfrəʊ /

noun

1. a hairstyle in which the hair is shaped into a wide frizzy bush

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Afro- ² British  

combining form

1. indicating Africa or African

   Afro-Asiatic

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Afros
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Afro¹

First recorded in 1965–70; independent use of Afro-

Origin of Afro-²

< Latin Āfr- (stem of Āfer an African) + -o-

Example Sentences

It was also great for Johnson Products: Sales of Afro Sheen soared.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 9, 2026

Pio Pico, the last governor of Mexican California, was — like many of the settlers who had founded the city of Los Angeles in 1781 — probably a man with Afro Mexican origins.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2026

After teaching a quick lesson on Charles Mingus, she produced a bright yellow record jacket with a photograph of a bearded man with an Afro, wearing a tight yellow T-shirt and beaming confidently.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

It spawned some of the band's best-loved songs, including Kinky Afro, Loose Fit and Step On, their era-defining version of John Kongos's 1971 hit He's Gonna Step on You Again.

From BBC • Jan. 6, 2026

My hair was curly and I was proud of my Afro.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah