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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At the core of Ibeyi, which translates to “twins” in the Yoruba language, is the polarity between sisters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Naomi: We wanted to be with our people and show the real Yoruba, Cuban way of living.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
They describe it as "neither wholly Brazilian nor wholly Yoruba, but entirely its own".
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026
"The sacred grove, which is now seen as a symbol of identity for all Yoruba people, is probably the last in Yoruba culture," it adds.
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2026
The diviner of shells shaved her head as everyone chanted in the language of the Yoruba.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
“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
In India this is the mundane egg of Brahma; and it reappears among the Yorubas as a pair of calabashes put together like oyster-shells, one making a dome over the other.
From Myths and myth-makers: Old Tales and Superstitions Interpreted by Comparative Mythology by Fiske, John
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.
