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  • apache
    apache
    noun
    a Parisian gangster, rowdy, or ruffian.
  • Apache
    Apache
    noun
    a member of an Athabascan people of the southwestern United States.

apache

1 American  
[uh-pahsh, uh-pash, a-pash] / əˈpɑʃ, əˈpæʃ, aˈpaʃ /

noun

  • apaches
    plural
  1. a Parisian gangster, rowdy, or ruffian.


Apache 2 American  
[uh-pach-ee] / əˈpætʃ i /

noun

  • Apaches,
    plural
  • Apache
    plural
  1. a member of an Athabascan people of the southwestern United States.

  2. any of the several Athabascan languages of Arizona and the Rio Grande basin.

  3. Military. a two-man U.S. Army helicopter designed to attack enemy armor with rockets or a 30mm gun and equipped for use in bad weather and in darkness.


adjective

  1. of or relating to an Athabascan people of the southwestern United States or their language.

Apache 1 British  
/ əˈpætʃɪ /

noun

  1. a member of a North American Indian people, formerly nomadic and warlike, inhabiting the southwestern US and N Mexico

  2. the language of this people, belonging to the Athapascan group of the Na-Dene phylum

"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

apache 2 British  
/ əˈpɑːʃ, apaʃ, -ˈpæʃ /

noun

  1. a Parisian gangster or ruffian

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of apache1

1735–45, < French: Apache

Origin of Apache2

First recorded in 1915–20; from Mexican Spanish, perhaps from Zuni ʔa·paču “Navajos,” presumably applied formerly to the Apacheans (Navajos and Apaches) generally


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:

He’s Dad the destroyer, who mapped out the steps for the apache dance that defines his children’s lives.

From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2014

But the broken, jagged heart of this production belongs to Ms. Rodriguez and Mr. Cannavale, who turn their characters’ relationship into a bruising, tragicomic apache dance of love, betrayal and indecision.

From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2011

The result is a bravura hodgepodge of Spanish and gypsy dances, pas de deux, a smattering of light-footed cupids and dryads and, for some obscure reason, a jig resembling a French apache dance.

From Time Magazine Archive

This paper is dated last Monday, and on page two occurs the following announcement:"    "American soldiers, sailors, and marines attend funeral of        notorious apache.

From O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1920 by Various

A model—Sapristi!—he called himself such, but for herself she would have called him un vrai apache!

From The Shadow of the East by E. M. (Edith Maude) Hull

The U.S. military has grounded its Apache helicopters after two soldiers were killed near Fort Hood, Texas.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

“This was an Apache helicopter and two souls were on board,” said Cliff Coleman, spokesman for the Bell County Sheriff’s Office.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The court heard he told Helen he had served in the Army air corps for 27 years, and was an Apache helicopter pilot until 2018.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

A Corsair was used in June to rescue the crew of an Apache helicopter that was downed off the coast of Oman.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

There were stories of the Apache Wars in the Wild West, a new circus act called a flying trapeze, and Abraham Lincoln arguing that Kansas should be a free state and not slave.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

Apaches have been flying low over the strait for maritime patrols and precision strikes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

Kid Rock, a supporter of President Donald Trump, posted a video of himself gesturing at the AH-64 Apaches above his swimming pool on Saturday, prompting many to question why the helicopters would visit his home.

From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2026

Charles Bendire was leading a patrol against Apaches near what is now Tucson, Ariz., when he saw the nest of a zone-tailed hawk.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

Cole had to be creative when he lost a player against St. Bonaventure, leaving the Apaches with four players.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2026

According to Grandma, a hundred years ago a tribe of Apaches had fought the U.S.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

From this radical start, she went on to order the fashionable women of three continents into the turtleneck sweaters of the apaches, to expose their knees and suppress their curves.

From Time Magazine Archive

But remember the crooks in Turn to the Right and the apaches in Seoenfh Heaven.

From Time Magazine Archive

Cowboys, apaches, and residents of Newport have probably far more grievous protests.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Worst apaches in the city of New York; death contractors—the lowest bidders!

From The Adventures of Jimmie Dale by Frank L. (Frank Lucius) Packard

"Mal frequenté" in Parisian argot has a variety of significations; in this particular instance it suggested apaches to me.

From The Merry-Go-Round by Carl Van Vechten

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