First recorded in 1655–65; from Persian, from Arabic ḥāfiẓ literally, “a guard, one who keeps (in memory),” from ḥāfiẓa “to guard, memorize”
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One fighter was a hafiz, someone who has memorized the entire Quran.
From New York Times ● Sep. 23, 2021
Around the time Mr. Shekau killed himself, the hafiz began secretly listening to recordings of sermons by imams preaching a completely different, and peaceful, interpretation.
From New York Times ● Sep. 23, 2021
In Islam, the hafiz are followers of Muhammed who have memorised the Koran completely.
From Economist ● Nov. 3, 2017
He was a hafiz, one who knows the Qur’an by heart, and he sang it in a slow, simple chant.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
“Khuda hafiz, beti,” Salma Auntie says to me.
From "Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan
A new speaker, Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, and his deputy, Kayser Kamal, were elected to office.
From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026
"In a way, I'm documenting the thoughts and emotions of young Kashmiris," Ms Hafiz says.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2025
“To see that this administration is plotting out how they’re going to expand its use in ways that we have not seen before is very shocking and very concerning,” Hafiz told NPR.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2025
“I’m pretty negative about social media companies. They are intentionally not doing anything to stop it,” said Hafiz Malik, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2024
The Troubadours, and the Roman Elegists, De Musset and Verlaine, Hafiz and Keats, are among the very greatest poets, even though they are not prophets.
From The Literature of Ecstasy by Mordell, Albert
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.
