Word.ws English Dictionary

Harlem

/ˈhɑː(ɹ)ləm/

Harlem proper noun: a neighborhood in northern Manhattan, New York County, New York City, New York State, United States, currently known for its black population and the culture thereof. Also the obsolete form of Haarlem.

Proper noun

Harlem

  1. A neighborhood in northern Manhattan, New York County, New York City, New York State, United States, currently known for its black population and the culture thereof.
    • Holonyms: Manhattan < New York < New York < United States < North America < Earth, World
    • This really was Harlem, and now all the stories which I had heard of the city-within-a-city leaped alive in my mind.1952, Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, Penguin Books (2014), page 159

Also used as

Harlem is also the obsolete form of Haarlem.

Harlem meaning in Hindi and Arabic

Harlem in Hindi

a neighborhood in northern Manhattan
हार्लेम hārlem

Harlem in Arabic

a neighborhood in northern Manhattan
هارلم hārlim, هارليم hārlīm

Origin of Harlem

(New York City): From Dutch Nieuw Haarlem (“new Haarlem”), the original name of the area under the Dutch control, after Haarlem, a city in the Netherlands.

Words formed from Harlem

Phrases with Harlem

Questions about Harlem

What does Harlem mean?
Harlem means a neighborhood in northern Manhattan, New York County, New York City, New York State, United States, currently known for its black population and the culture thereof.
What is Harlem in Hindi?
Harlem in Hindi is हार्लेम (hārlem). See Harlem meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is Harlem?
Harlem is a proper noun.
How do you pronounce Harlem?
Harlem is pronounced /ˈhɑː(ɹ)ləm/.

Words near Harlem in the dictionary

  1. Harlee
  2. Harleian
  3. Harleigh
  4. harlekin
  5. harlekins
  6. Harlem
  7. Harlem Renaissance
  8. Harlem sunset
  9. Harlem sunsets
  10. Harlemer
  11. Harlemers

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Harlem (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Harlem.wav.

Cite this entry: “Harlem.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/harlem. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.