From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdreadlocksdread‧locks /ˈdredlɒks $ -lɑːks/ noun [plural] DCRRa way of arranging your hair, popular with Rastafarians, in which it hangs in thick pieces that look like rope
Examples from the Corpus
dreadlocks• He may have had what appeared to be dreadlocks at the back of his head.• Last night in the parking lot of the mall a swami with blond dreadlocks treated us to a levitation.• Kelly is the sweetest thing I have ever seen, with a face like Raggedy Ann and ginger dreadlocks.• Dissident A rabbinical poet with hippy dreadlocks was king of the clients on vodka street.• His hair took to the forming of dreadlocks.• Their dreadlocks flew like skipping ropes, their bodies gleamed, their eyes were closed in divine ecstasy.• An albino with white dreadlocks had appeared from one of the trailers with the blonde girl in tow.• If you can be just a little bit clued-up and not be Rastafarian with dreadlocks, you can not fail. 