Irish
Americanadjective
noun
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the inhabitants of Ireland and their descendants elsewhere.
-
the aboriginal Celtic-speaking people of Ireland.
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Also called Irish Gaelic. the Celtic language of Ireland in its historical or modern form. Ir, Ir.
idioms
adjective
-
of, relating to, or characteristic of Ireland, its people, their Celtic language, or their dialect of English
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informal ludicrous or illogical
noun
-
(functioning as plural) the natives or inhabitants of Ireland
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another name for Irish Gaelic
Sensitive Note
See Irish pennant.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Irish
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English Yrisse, Iris(c)h; compare Old English Īras people of Ireland (cognate with Old Norse Īrar ); see -ish 1
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.
She made history in 1990 when she became the first Irish actress to win an Academy Award, beating Hollywood stars including Julia Roberts and Anjelica Huston.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Fricker earned the Academy Award for supporting actress, becoming the first Irish female actor to win an Oscar, and Day-Lewis took home the prize for lead actor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
The US ambassador to Ireland, Edward Walsh, paid tribute to Fricker as "a giant of Irish film" and praised her "unforgettable" performance in My Left Foot.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Irish actor Brenda Fricker, who won an Oscar for her role in “My Left Foot” and whose Pigeon Lady befriended Macaulay Culkin‘s Kevin McCallister in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” has died.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
The families of most of the seamstresses had immigrated from country villages in Italy, Poland, and Russia, just as the Irish had come fifty years before, hoping for a better life in America.
From "Fannie Never Flinched" by Mary Cronk Farrell
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.
