name
Joshua
JO-shoor
name
1
A book of the Hebrew Bible, and its central figure, who led the Israelites after the death of Moses.
"The Book of Joshua describes the conquest of Canaan."
2
A common male given name from Hebrew.
"Joshua is the oldest of three brothers."
noun
1
Short for Joshua tree, a spiky, tree-like desert plant native to the American Southwest.
"The hikers photographed a cluster of joshuas silhouetted against the sunset."
How to Use Joshua
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA biblical name meaning "God saves," also used for the iconic desert tree.
Common pairings
Joshua Tree National Park
Word Forms
Joshuas plural
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “Joshua”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
The Book of _____ describes the conquest of Canaan.
Etymology
From the Biblical Hebrew name Yehoshua, meaning "Yahweh is salvation" — linguistically related to the name Jesus by way of Greek and Aramaic.