Jonah

[joh-nuh]

noun

1. a Minor Prophet who, for his impiety, was thrown overboard from his ship and swallowed by a large fish, remaining in its belly for three days before being cast up onto the shore unharmed.

2. a book of the Bible bearing his name.

3. any person or thing regarded as bringing bad luck.

4. Also Jonas a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “dove.”

Jonah

/ ˈdʒəʊnə, ˈdʒəʊnəs /

noun

1. Old Testament

   1. a Hebrew prophet who, having been thrown overboard from a ship in which he was fleeing from God, was swallowed by a great fish and vomited onto dry land

   2. the book in which his adventures are recounted

2. a person believed to bring bad luck to those around him; a jinx

Other Word Forms

• Jonahesque adjective

Example Sentences

Jonah Pierce scored 13 points to lead the Blue Hose, a tiny South Carolina-based outfit out of the Big South Conference that lost to California by only 10 points this week.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Once viewed as a wunderkind from the beginning of baseball’s data revolution—he was the loose basis of Jonah Hill’s character in the “Moneyball” movie—DePodesta abandoned the sport nearly a decade ago.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Silver family is interracial, Lena being black, Sarah white, and Jonah biracial, their parents having married after their respective divorces and everyone converting to Judaism.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In 2023, at just 20 years old, Miller won the Player of the Year award for New Zealand's top rugby player - the youngest winner since Jonah Lomu.

Read more on BBC

Jonah Labib, Jacob’s father, said the boys had enjoyed a full day of competitive tournament matches at the Albion Cup in Temecula before the accident.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• unlucky 
• woeful