Definition, Meaning & Synonyms

jonah

noun

/ˈjoʊ.nə/

Definition

A person who brings bad luck or misfortune to others.

Examples

Every time we include Tom in our projects, everything goes wrong; he’s become such a jonah for us.
After a series of unfortunate events, she jokingly referred to herself as the office jonah.

Meaning

The term ‘jonah’ is often used to describe someone who seems to cause problems or failures for a group or situation, derived from the biblical story of Jonah, who was swallowed by a whale and symbolically associated with misfortune.