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Rachel

American  
[ray-chuhl] / ˈreɪ tʃəl /

noun

  1. Jacob's favored wife, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Genesis 29–35.

  2. a female given name.


Rachel British  

noun

  1. Old Testament the second and best-loved wife of Jacob; mother of Joseph and Benjamin (Genesis 29–35)

  2. original name Elisa Félix . 1820–58, French tragic actress, famous for her roles in the plays of Racine and Corneille

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Rachel Cultural  
  1. The second wife of Jacob (see Jacob and Esau). She was sterile for many years, but eventually had two sons: Joseph (see Joseph and his brothers) and Benjamin.


Etymology

Origin of Rachel

From Late Latin, from Greek Rhachḗl, from Hebrew rāḥēl “ewe, female lamb”

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:

Speaking on 5 Live Breakfast, former Everton goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis described TFG's plans to sell the club as a "shock".

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Fuel Finder was launched in February by former chancellor Rachel Reeves, who said at the time it could save households £40 per year.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Meanwhile, a swell from Hurricane Rachel is expected to bring elevated surf of 5 to 6 feet to area beaches on Tuesday through Thursday, according to the weather service forecast.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Study co-lead Professor Rachel Neale said the research was the first in Australia to examine what happens when human skin is exposed to levels of UV radiation that naturally occur at the Earth's surface.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

A twisting, uneasy part of me wished Rachel were here.

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

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