Usually Diaspora. the scattering of the Jews from the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah following the dissolution of those kingdoms and Babylonian captivity.
Often Diaspora.
the body of Jews living in countries outside Israel.
such countries collectively.
Passover is celebrated for seven days in Israel, but for eight days by Jews living in the Diaspora.
Often Diaspora. any group that has been dispersed outside its traditional homeland, especially involuntarily, as Africans during the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
any group migration or flight from a country or region.
any religious group living as a minority among people of the prevailing religion.
the spread or dissemination of something originally confined to a local, homogeneous group, as a language or cultural institution.
the diaspora of English as a global language.
the dispersion of the Jews after the Babylonian and Roman conquests of Palestine
the Jewish communities outside Israel
the Jews living outside Israel
the extent of Jewish settlement outside Israel
(in the New Testament) the body of Christians living outside Palestine
(often not capital) a dispersion or spreading, as of people originally belonging to one nation or having a common culture
the descendants of Sub-Saharan African peoples living anywhere in the Western hemisphere
—“To the Diaspora”: A 1981 poem by African American poet Gwendolyn Brooks. — Diaspora: A 1997 science fiction novel by Australian author Greg Egan.
First recorded in 1690–1700; from Greek diasporá “scattering, dispersion”; see origin at dia-, spore
A diaspora is a large group of people with a similar heritage or homeland who have since moved out to places all over the world. The term diaspora comes from an ancient Greek word meaning "to scatter about." And that's exactly what the people of a diaspora do — they scatter from their homeland to places across the globe, spreading their culture as they go. The Bible refers to the Diaspora of Jews exiled from Israel by the Babylonians. But the word is now also used more generally to describe any large migration of refugees, language, or culture.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The task force is a group of organisations representing the seven largest Jewish diaspora communities.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Here came another global soccer icon to Major League Soccer — and to L.A., where the South Korean sensation was welcomed enthusiastically by a Korean diaspora that’s about 250,000 strong.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
Modi was also feted by an estimated 10,000 or more supporters from among the country's 300,000-strong Indian diaspora gathering at a community event in Auckland's Spark Arena.
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
Private banks, private companies of meaningful scale, foreign investment and diaspora capital are the preconditions for an independent economic base.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Rumors spread like a diaspora of atoms in the knackery of the universe, always getting rendered into something else and something else.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
Diaspora communities are increasingly playing a role in widening player pools, said Gijsbert Oonk, a professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam who studies the intersection of migration and sports.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
More than 1,000 African-Americans have done so in the past decade, according to Dr Erieka Bennet, ambassador for the Diaspora African Forum, which helps people relocate to Ghana.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026
The desired identities are often part of the job: “Assistant Professor of Latina/o/x Literatures and Cultures” or “Assistant Professor of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026
The 40-year-old father of three eventually returned and now heads Diaspora, an NGO which educates potential migrants.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2025
They spent many hours talking together about the changing world and the dawning of independence and liberation movements across the African Diaspora.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
Excitement for the global soccer spectacle has progressively waned as countries with large diasporas in the city -- like Mexico and Egypt -- have been ejected.
From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026
Almost overnight, a player from a country with the world’s 13th-largest population of about 113 million but with almost no professional tennis tradition is carrying one of the globe’s biggest diasporas from tournament to tournament.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
But there were more than enough day-ones and die-hards in the crowd to keep the party going - including thousands from different diasporas.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
The move hits at the heart of Minnesota’s Somali-American community, one of the largest Somali diasporas in the country.
From Salon ● Nov. 22, 2025
Money brokers are part of large Chinese diasporas in places like Europe, the United States and Latin America.
From Reuters ● Apr. 6, 2023
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.
