Navajo

American  

[nav-uh-hoh, nah-vuh-] / ˈnæv əˌhoʊ, ˈnɑ və- /

Or Navaho

noun

plural

Navajos, Navajoes,

plural

Navajo

1. Also called Diné.  a member of the most populous nation of the southern division of Athabascan Native Americans, located in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, and now constituting the largest tribal group in the United States.

2. the Athabascan language of the Navajo.

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adjective

1. Also of, relating to, or characteristic of the Navajo, their language, or their culture.

   a Navajo blanket.

Etymology

Origin of Navajo

First recorded in 1800–10; from American Spanish Apaches de Nabajú “Apaches of Nabajú” (Navajo and several Apachean languages are mutually intelligible), originally a place name applied to the Largo Canyon region of the Four Corners area of northwest New Mexico, from Tewa navahu “large arroyo with cultivated fields”; Diné ( def. )

Example Sentences

Last year, the Navajo Nation president said his office had received reports of tribal citizens in Arizona and New Mexico getting caught up in the crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026

Once enough information was gathered, the team cross-referenced all of their intelligence, looking for inconsistencies and flags, and provided their findings to the Navajo County district attorney’s office, Clouse said.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 29, 2025

Michael Abatti, 63, was taken into custody in El Centro at about 3:20 pm, according to a news release from the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025

Ernie Stevens Sr. was also revered in Indian country, with leadership roles in places like Oneida, Navajo Nation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

However, despite our lack of facial hair, every Navajo recruit was still expected to put soap on his face each morning and scrape away his imaginary beard.

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac