English Reference

Word

hombre

Phoneticshom·bre

US/ˈhɑmbɹə/

UK/hˈɒmbɐ/

Definition

n. a man, especially one who is tough, brave, or has a lot of character. It is a Spanish word that people in English often use to sound cool or old-fashioned.

n. a man, typically one who is perceived as having a strong character or a rugged personality. Borrowed from Spanish; often used in English to evoke a sense of traditional masculinity or to describe a specific archetype of a tough individual.

Examples

“He is a real hombre who never backs down from a challenge.”

“The old cowboy was a true hombre, respected by everyone in the small desert town for his honesty and strength.”

Examples

simple

“He is a real hombre who never backs down from a challenge.”

contextual

“The old cowboy was a true hombre, respected by everyone in the small desert town for his honesty and strength.”

Real-World Examples

“Most unsettling, somehow, for me, is the still image of Allen reconstituted as a speakeasy gangster, the "tough hombre" remembered by an elderly waiter decades after the event.”
The Guardian · 22 Dec 2011

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish hombre (“man; human being”). Doublet of gome, homo, ombre, and omi.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry

Level
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Occasional
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/hombre

English Reference