First recorded in 1965–70; independent use of Afro-
< Latin Āfr- (stem of Āfer an African) + -o-
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was also great for Johnson Products: Sales of Afro Sheen soared.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Referencing a traditional mourning tent, Teddy Afro – whose real name is Tewodros Kassahun – sings that he is grieving a country he says has been lost.
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026
The troupe, which features Afro Latino talent and dance elements, is bringing its robust program to L.A. this week.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026
So I've always been interested in both African foodways and Afro Caribbean foodways.
From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2024
She used more than fifty sponge rollers to make her big curly Afro.
From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Such was the world of the Mediterranean basin and Afro- Eurasia in the middle of the fourteenth century when the bubonic plague ravaged central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
Kings, clergy, and scholars helped to preserve the classical past and maintain diplomatic and economic ties across western Afro- Eurasia.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
The unrest began in the north London suburb of Tottenham on Aug. 6, after a local man of Afro- Caribbean origin, Mark Duggan, was killed in a shootout with police.
From BusinessWeek ● Aug. 9, 2011
"There is a mood of Afro- pessimism," says Serageldin.
From Time Magazine Archive
At the end of my talk, I heard “Yes! We support the Afro- American . . . morally, physically, materially if necessary!”
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
That meant little to us as teens wearing big ties and platform shoes, listening to rock and roll while even white guys sported Afros and we all began dancing to disco.
From Salon ● Jan. 2, 2025
Bows, meticulously handmade flowers and shiny buttons adorn wigs shaped into opulent Afros, coiled curls and braided up-dos.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2023
Locs, braids, twists and Afros are in, and we look marvelous in them.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2022
It was a time of Black Power, Afros and dashikis, yet I was welcomed graciously.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 21, 2022
A billboard of Jackie, Jermaine, Tito, Marlon, and Michael sporting big applejack caps over their even bigger Afros.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
