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: a small stone building in the court of the Great Mosque at Mecca that contains a sacred black stone and is the goal of Islamic pilgrimage and the point toward which Muslims turn in praying
Examples of Kaaba in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Clock Tower is located right next to the Kaaba and dwarfs the sacred structure.
—Ahmet T. Kuru, The Conversation, 9 July 2024
Hania Hassan Salama, 65, a homemaker from Egypt, asked her children to draw a mural of the Kaaba on the wall of their house, a tradition in Egypt to announce a pilgrimage.
—Magdy Samaan, CNN, 25 June 2024
Even under the hot sun though, prayers at the Kaaba and on the Day of Arafat can offer moments of reflection and inner peace amid the bustling crowd.
—Aya Batrawy, NPR, 21 June 2024
The Saudi government attempts to crack down on this undocumented contingent of pilgrims, but tens of thousands of undercover pilgrims manage to visit the Kaaba each year.
—Timothy H.j. Nerozzi Fox News, Fox News, 21 June 2024
Nearly 2 million Muslims will reach the end of the hajj pilgrimage this week, but extreme heat has proved fatal for hundreds who began the journey June 14 to the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
—Gloria Dickie and Pesha Magid, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 June 2024
Muslim pilgrims were wrapping up the Hajj pilgrimage in the deadly summer heat on Tuesday with the third day of the symbolic stoning of the devil, and the farewell circling around Kaaba in Mecca’s Grand Mosque.
—Samy Magdy, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2024
Furthermore, the Kaaba, considered one of the most sacred spots on Earth by Muslims, is in the center of the Great Mosque in Mecca.
—Marina Johnson, The Indianapolis Star, 8 Mar. 2024
Opening the section is a tile from 17th-century Iznik, a major Ottoman ceramics center, that diagrams the Great Mosque in Mecca, with the Kaaba at its center.
—Vanessa H. Larson, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2023
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Word History
Etymology
Arabic kaʽba, literally, cubic building
First Known Use
1734, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near Kaaba
Cite this Entry
“Kaaba.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Kaaba. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
Kaaba
noun
Kaa·ba
ˈkäb-ə
: a small stone building in the court of the Great Mosque at Mecca that contains a sacred black stone and is the point toward which Muslims turn in praying
More from Merriam-Webster on Kaaba
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about Kaaba
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