Nair
Americannoun
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Nair,
plural
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Nairs
plural
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a group of Hindu castes in the Kerala region of India.
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a member of any one of these castes.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of Nair
1580–85; < Portuguese naire < Malayalam nāyar members of ruling caste < Sanskrit nāya to lead
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:
“When I get to that moment in the locker room before a very big match,” Ms. Sharapova tells Ms. Kumar Nair, “I feel like it’s my second skin, like it’s part of my body.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The Dali's technical supervisor, Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, also faces criminal charges.
From BBC ● May 12, 2026
An Indian national, Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, 47, who worked for both companies as technical superintendent for the ship, the M/V Dali, is also named in the indictment unsealed on Tuesday.
From Barron's ● May 12, 2026
It was a direct nod to Mamdani himself, whose mother, Mira Nair, is a Punjabi Hindu woman from India.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026
“I know. Anyway, I’m done talking about all that. Let’s see if we can find a Mira Nair movie on the Hindi channel.”
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
A mutual friend made the introductions between the Nairs and the Maccionis, and Le Cirque Delhi was born.
From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2011
Political Justice; finish the Nairs; pack up and go to our lodgings in Somers Town.
From The Life and Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Volume I (of 2) by Florence A. Thomas Marshall
It may temporarily supersede these as in Australia; or it may take their place, as among the Nairs.
From Kinship Organisations and Group Marriage in Australia by Northcote Whitridge Thomas
The Rani and Venjamutta were friendly, but told him he must take his own vengeance on the Nairs for their inhuman action.
From The Pirates of Malabar, and an Englishwoman in India Two Hundred Years Ago by J. (John) Biddulph
The Nairs of Malabar and the Santal of Chota Nagpur are typical representatives.
From Man, Past and Present by Alfred Court Haddon
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.
