- ( pl -ins, -in) a member of any of the nomadic tribes of Arabs inhabiting the deserts of Arabia, Jordan, and Syria, as well as parts of the Sahara
- a wanderer or rover
- of or relating to the Bedouins
- wandering or roving
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
Bed•ou•in /ˈbɛduɪn, ˈbɛdwɪn/USA pronunciation
n. [countable], pl. -ins, (esp. when thought of as a group) -in.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Language Varietiesa nomadic Arab of the deserts of SW Asia and N Africa.
- a wanderer;
nomad.
Bed•ou•in
(bed′o̅o̅ in, bed′win),USA pronunciation n., pl. -ins, (esp. collectively) -in, adj.
n.
adj.
Bed′ou•in•ism, n.
n.
- Language Varieties, Anthropologyan Arab of the desert, in Asia or Africa;
nomadic Arab. - a nomad;
wanderer.
adj.
- Language Varietiesof, pertaining to, or characteristic of the Bedouin.
- Arabic badawī desert-dweller (badw desert + -ī suffix of appurtenance)
- Middle French beduyn
- Middle English Bedoyn 1350–1400
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Bedouin, Beduin /ˈbɛdʊɪn/ n
'Bedouin' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):