Irish
Americanadjective
noun
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the inhabitants of Ireland and their descendants elsewhere.
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the aboriginal Celtic-speaking people of Ireland.
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Also called Irish Gaelic. the Celtic language of Ireland in its historical or modern form. Ir, Ir.
idioms
adjective
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of, relating to, or characteristic of Ireland, its people, their Celtic language, or their dialect of English
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informal ludicrous or illogical
noun
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(functioning as plural) the natives or inhabitants of Ireland
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another name for Irish Gaelic
Sensitive Note
See Irish pennant.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Irish
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English Yrisse, Iris(c)h; compare Old English Īras people of Ireland (cognate with Old Norse Īrar ); see -ish 1
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.
While playing club rugby for Watsonians in his hometown of Edinburgh, Hastings earned 65 caps and toured twice with the British and Irish Lions in 1989 and 1993.
From BBC • May 17, 2026
Their songs weave in Irish lilting, set against a lively mix of drums, fiddles, flutes, harps, banjos, cello and concertina - skills honed over years of playing house parties, pub céilís and traditional festivals.
From BBC • May 16, 2026
Born in New Jersey to the an Irish mother and an Italian-American father who ran a tyre store, he left school at 16 to try his hand at acting and dancing.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
And things were set up so you could rise quickly—you could go from Irish peasant to American working-class family, then to division manager, Wall Street titan, Broadway producer.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
I get so nervous about her whereabouts that I lose my head and barge into the Irish Pride Pub one afternoon after school.
From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick
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.
