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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 because Roy Ayers — the bearded man with an Afro on the album cover — was my biological father.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

"Where we're at now there's so much, there's Afro gospel, there's R&B, there's rap and it's touching on so many different matters."

From BBC • Mar. 6, 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

So I've always been interested in both African foodways and Afro Caribbean foodways.

From Salon • Dec. 9, 2024

He was intimidating—a very large man with a gigantic silver Afro.

From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda