Arab
noun
a member of a Semitic people inhabiting Arabia and other countries of the Middle East.
Arab
1 American
[ar-uhb]
/ ˈær əb /
noun
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Arabs
plural
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a member of a Semitic people inhabiting Arabia and other countries of the Middle East.
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a member of any Arabic-speaking people.
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Also called Arabber. Sometimes Offensive. a street peddler.
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Archaic: Sometimes Offensive. street arab.
Arab.
2
American
abbreviation
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Arabia.
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Arabian.
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Arabic.
Arab
British
noun
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a member of a Semitic people originally inhabiting Arabia, who spread throughout the Middle East, N Africa, and Spain during the seventh and eighth centuries ad
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a lively intelligent breed of horse, mainly used for riding
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(modifier) of or relating to the Arabs
the Arab nations
Sensitive Note
The meanings “street peddler” and “vagabond” (in this second sense, also called a street arab ) are sometimes perceived as insulting because of their reference to the historically nomadic peoples of Arabia. The meaning “vagabond” has fallen into disuse. However, street vendors in Baltimore, Maryland, are called Arabs; in fact, it is a self-referential term—that is, one used by the vendors themselves.
Pronunciation
The pronunciation of Arab as , with an initial sound and secondary stress on the second syllable, is sometimes used facetiously or disparagingly. It is especially common in the street-peddler and street-arab senses and is usually considered offensive in any sense.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of Arab
First recorded in 1350–1400; from Latin Arab-, stem of Arabs, from Greek Árab-, stem of Áraps “Arabian, an Arabian, Arab,” from Arabic ʿArab, a self-designation
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.
See Examples For:
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also kept exports moving through pipelines that bypass the waterway.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
The sanctions hit entities around the world, including in the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, China, Singapore and in Europe.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
"Russia is busy with Ukraine, the United Nations is finished, and the Arab countries have their own internal problems."
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
By the end, he managed to orchestrate the Abraham Accords, an agreement normalizing diplomatic relations between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Israel.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
The Arab sheiks prize falcons,” the librarian continues.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
“Today I feel Qatari. I feel Arab. I feel African. I feel gay. I feel disabled. I feel a migrant worker.”
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 19, 2022
“Today I feel Arab. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel a migrant worker.”
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 19, 2022
“All of our river water got destroyed. Go to Shatt al Arab. There's no fish there.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2018
They see me and think, ‘You’re tan. You’re Jewish. You’re Greek. You’re Arab. You’re a mad scientist . . .’ In the beginning I played a cab driver but I never played a terrorist.
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2017
Arab., a very fine and highly important MS.
From A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, Vol. II. by Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener
Arabs within the SDF's ranks also defected en masse after Sharaa's army took control of two previously Kurdish-held provinces, Raqa and Deir Ezzor, leaving them at half their strength, according to Syria specialist Fabrice Balanche.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
The SDF amassed around 100,000 fighters at its peak, both Kurds and Arabs, and controlled swathes of Syria's oil-rich north and northeast.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
No, the people the vice president says to listen to are Gulf Arabs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
A poll released by the Israel Democracy Institute on Wednesday suggested that 93% of the Jewish public were in favour of it, compared with 26% among Israeli Arabs.
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2026
The Arabs, who gained possession of the city by treaty in 641 ce but ultimately neglected it in favor of their own foundation at Cairo, were unnerved by Alexandria’s splendor.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
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.
