Jonah
Americannoun
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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.
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a book of the Bible bearing his name.
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any person or thing regarded as bringing bad luck.
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Also Jonas a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “dove.”
noun
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Old Testament
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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
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the book in which his adventures are recounted
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a person believed to bring bad luck to those around him; a jinx
Other Word Forms
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.
"Dolly is like a mother to everyone who lives here," said 24-year-old local Jonah La Grand, clad in a Dolly Parton t-shirt and speaking of her in the present tense.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
"Luckily Jonah was fascinated to find out about his heritage," said Rachel.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
The Academy Award-winning actor, who portrayed Daily Bugle chief J. Jonah Jameson in director Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” trilogy, was reunited with his onscreen nemesis at the New York Mets game Tuesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
Jonah Peretti, BuzzFeed’s founder and its current CEO, will become president of BuzzFeed AI, a newly-created position.
From MarketWatch ● May 11, 2026
I close the book too hard, and Jonah scribbles a note and holds it up.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
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.
