cornrow

[ kawrn-roh ]

noun

a type of braid, originating in Africa, in which a narrow strip of hair is plaited tightly against the scalp from front to back or from side to side.
Usually cornrows. a hairstyle consisting of such braids in close parallel rows.

verb (used with object)

to arrange (hair) in cornrows.

Origin of cornrow

An Americanism dating back to 1970–75; corn¹ + row¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cornrow in a sentence

Some of them have basic cornrows and finger-waves; one woman has a “flat twist with waterfalls.”
"Can I Touch It" Gives White Corporate Women 'Black' Hairstyles | Isabel Wilkinson | October 19, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
The zealous actor talks to Marlow Stern about a Fight Club reunion, getting cornrows, and all the Batman rumors.
Edward Norton, Criminal Mastermind | Marlow Stern | October 9, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
In addition to reworking his dialogue, the prison inmates also provided some grooming inspiration—in the form of cornrows.
Edward Norton, Criminal Mastermind | Marlow Stern | October 9, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
Blue is 23, wears an oversize hoodie, has his hair in tight cornrows, and a hard look in his eyes.
The Town That Won't Stop Burning | Gregory Gilderman, Jeff Deeney | May 14, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
The clods in the cornrows wore dry as powder and gave no nourishment for growing, ripening things.
Back Home | Irvin S. Cobb

British Dictionary definitions for cornrow

cornrow

/ (ˈkɔːnˌrəʊ) /

noun

a Black, originally African, hair-style in which the hair is plaited in close parallel rows, resembling furrows in a ploughed field

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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