Mohawk
Americannoun
plural
Mohawks,plural
Mohawk-
a member of a tribe of the most easterly of the Iroquois Five Nations, formerly resident along the Mohawk River, New York.
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the Iroquoian language of the Mohawk Indians.
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a river flowing E from central New York to the Hudson. 148 miles (240 km) long.
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Also called Mohawk haircut. (often lowercase) a hairstyle in which the head is shaved bare except for a strip of hair, usually with blunt, brushlike ends, down the center of the scalp from the forehead to the nape of the neck.
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Military. a twin turboprop, two-seat U.S. Army aircraft fitted with cameras, radar, and infrared sensors and designed to monitor enemy operations.
noun
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a member of a North American Indian people formerly living along the Mohawk River; one of the Iroquois peoples
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the language of this people, belonging to the Iroquoian family
noun
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skating a half turn from either edge of either skate to the corresponding edge of the other skate
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Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): mohican. a punk hairstyle in which the head is shaved at the sides and the remaining strip of hair is worn stiffly erect and sometimes brightly coloured
noun
Etymology
Origin of mohawk
C19: after Mohawk 1
Explanation
A mohawk is a hairstyle created by shaving the hair on each side of the head, leaving a wide strip of longer hair down the middle. While mohawks are commonly associated with punk music fans in the 1980s, David Beckham and Mr. T have also sported this hair style. The mohawk has been around for centuries, worn by groups as varied as 600 BCE Scythian warriors and World War II American paratroopers. It's perhaps most famous for its popularity among fans of punk and hardcore music starting in the 1980s. While it's named for the Mohawk tribe of Native Americans, it more closely resembles the way the Pawnees traditionally styled their hair than the way the Mohawks did, with a square patch at the back of the head).
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.
Auto parts provider LKQ, chemical company Solstice Advanced Materials, and flooring manufacturer Mohawk Industries will be booted out of the S&P 500 as part of the reshuffle.
From Barron's • Dec. 8, 2025
Kiba, her 3.5-pound papillon with a purple Mohawk, pulled 556 pounds on rails.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025
“For us, the Mohawk people, it was survival, period,” says historian Darren Bonaparte, “and you didn’t know which side was going to be the best choice.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2025
He was moved on Friday to the Rikers Island jail complex from the Mohawk Correctional Facility where he had been since 2023.
From BBC • Apr. 27, 2024
He smoothed his lopsided Mohawk with one hand.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
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.
