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
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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.
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Naomi: We wanted to be with our people and show the real Yoruba, Cuban way of living.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
"We know many twins, but this marriage feels like it was arranged by God. We have always dreamed of marrying twins," Taiwo Oguntoye told BBC Yoruba on his wedding day.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Twins are considered a blessing in Yoruba culture and their names are predestined.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 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
They walked up and down and spoke loud Yoruba to one another and laughed and gestured to the village girls.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
“Don’t you hear the Yorubas speaking their own language?”
From The Guardian ● Mar. 14, 2019
The Yorubas of the south-west are split between Muslims and Christians and the Igbos of the south-east and neighbouring groups are mostly Christian or follow traditional religions.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2019
In Gusau, there was a sizeable population of ethnic Yorubas from south-western Nigeria, Igbos from the south-east, and thriving Indian and Lebanese communities.
From BBC ● May 18, 2018
The Nigerian government is currently dominated by Christian Yorubas.
From New York Times ● Dec. 24, 2012
The foregoing account is identical with that in the regimental records, with the exception that the Yorubas are not in the latter credited with so large a share in the mutiny.
From The History of the First West India Regiment by Ellis, A. B. (Alfred Burdon)
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.
