Yoruba
Americannoun
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a member of a numerous West African coastal people.
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the language of the Yoruba, a Kwa language.
noun
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a member of a Negroid people of W Africa, living chiefly in the coastal regions of SW Nigeria: noted for their former city states and complex material culture, particularly as evidenced in their music, art, and sculpture
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the language of this people, belonging to the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo family
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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.
They describe it as "neither wholly Brazilian nor wholly Yoruba, but entirely its own".
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026
“I’m Caribbean, so a lot of my family practices a Yoruba religion, which comes from Africa. In the Caribbean, it’s well known as Santería.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 2, 2026
She zeroes in on the singer-songwriter’s frequent choice of yellow costuming and golden headwear, callouts to Yoruba culture and its spirits.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026
Researching Annie, I had to look back at where I’m from, because she’s a hoodoo priestess and hoodoo is a derivative of Ifa, and Ifa is the traditional Yoruba religion.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025
The walls were studded with nails; perhaps the Yoruba occupier had hung up many photos.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
