Dreadlocks
noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A hairstyle worn by Rastafarians and others in which the hair is left to grow long, and twisted into matted strings. plural, plural-normally
"The patient history may point to the use of tight hairstyles that put tension on the hair root or hair treatments that increase the vulnerability to traction-related damage. The physician should evaluate for a history of tight ponytails, buns, chignons, braids, twists, weaves, cornrows, dreadlocks, sisterlocks, and hair wefts in addition to the usage of religious hair coverings."
- 1 third-person singular simple present indicative of dreadlock form-of, indicative, present, singular, third-person
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"What do you think of my dreadlocks?"
Etymology
Borrowed from Jamaican Creole dreadlocks, from dread (“of or relating to a dread”, adjective) (from dread (“(usually black) male member of the Rastafarian movement who wears his hair in dreadlocks”, noun), from English dread (“reverential or respectful fear; awe”), referring to the awe inspired by God) + English locks (plural of lock (“length or tuft of hair”)). The English word is analyzable as dread (“Rastafarian”, attributive) + locks.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.