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Hughes

American  
[hyooz, yooz] / hjuz, juz /

noun

  1. Charles Evans, 1862–1948, U.S. jurist and statesman: chief justice of the U.S. 1930–41.

  2. Howard (Robard) 1905–76, U.S. businessman, motion-picture producer, and aviator.

  3. (John) Langston 1902–67, U.S. novelist and poet.

  4. Rupert, 1872–1956, U.S. novelist and biographer.

  5. Ted, 1930–1998, English poet: poet laureate 1984–98 (husband of Sylvia Plath).

  6. Thomas, 1822–96, English novelist, reformer, and jurist.

  7. William Morris, 1864–1952, Australian statesman, born in Wales: prime minister 1915–23.


Hughes British  
/ hjuːz /

noun

  1. Howard. 1905–76, US industrialist, aviator, and film producer. He became a total recluse during the last years of his life

  2. ( James Mercer ) Langston. 1902–67, US Black poet and writer. His collections include The Weary Blues (1926) and The Panther and the Lash (1967)

  3. Richard ( Arthur Warren ). 1900–76, British novelist. He wrote A High Wind in Jamaica (1929), In Hazard (1938), and The Fox in the Attic (1961)

  4. Robert ( Studley Forrest ). 1938–2012, Australian art critic, writer, and broadcaster; his work includes the television series The Shock of the New (1981) and the book The Culture of Complaint (1993)

  5. Ted, full name Edward James Hughes. 1930–98, British poet: his works include The Hawk in the Rain (1957), Crow (1970), and Birthday Letters (1998). Poet laureate (1984–98)

  6. Thomas. 1822–96, British novelist; author of Tom Brown's Schooldays (1857)

  7. William Morris. 1864–1952, Australian statesman, born in England: prime minister of Australia (1915–23)

"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

Etymology

Origin of Hughes

From Old North French Hugues, Old French Hue, variant of Old French Hugo, a shortened form of Germanic given names beginning with hug- “mind, heart, spirit, soul” ( Old English hyge ). The spelling Hugh is from the Picard variant Hughes , the -gh- equivalent to French -gu-, used to express the “hard -g ” (as in “gun,” as opposed to the “soft -g ” (as in “gin” or “mirage”). The modern English pronunciation, rhyming with “cue,” is influenced by the Norman variant form Hue, now used only as a surname, mostly n Normandy

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:

Last week, Hamid Akhaven, the CEO of Hughes and EchoStar Capital, resigned, with EchoStar Capital being folded into another division of the company.

From MarketWatch Jul. 17, 2026

EchoStar is the operator of Boost Mobile, satellite-TV unit Dish DBS and satellite-internet service Hughes.

From MarketWatch Jul. 17, 2026

When we adopted her, her name was Riley, but I did think about naming her after Mrs. Hughes from “Downton Abbey.”

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 10, 2026

Rigs directed at natural gas increased by one this week to 126, or 18 more than a year ago, according to Baker Hughes.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 3, 2026

His stomach felt a sort of queasy rumble as he stood with his sisters and Reverend Hughes, and watched as the entire church circled around them, clasped hands, and began to pray.

From "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley

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