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Mecca

 - 6 dictionary results

Mec⋅ca

  [mek-uh]
Use Mecca in a Sentence
–noun
1. Also, Makkah, Mekka. a city in and the capital of Hejaz, in W Saudi Arabia: birthplace of Muhammad; spiritual center of Islam. 366,801.
2. (often lowercase) any place that many people visit or hope to visit: The president's birthplace is a mecca for his admirers.
Related forms:
Meccan, adjective, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Mecca
mec·ca   (měk'ə)   
n.  

    1. A place that is regarded as the center of an activity or interest.

    2. A goal to which adherents of a religious faith or practice fervently aspire.

  2. A place visited by many people: a mecca for tourists.


[After Mecca (from its being a place of pilgrimage).]
Mec·ca   (měk'ə)   
A city of western Saudi Arabia near the coast of the Red Sea. The birthplace of Muhammad, it is the holiest city of Islam and a pilgrimage site for all devout believers of the faith. Population: 1,290,000.
Mec'can adj. & n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

Mecca

The birthplace of Muhammad, and thus the holiest city for Muslims. Muslims face in the direction of Mecca when they pray, and they are expected to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives. Mecca is in present-day Saudi Arabia.

Note: Figuratively, a “mecca” is any place that attracts a great many people, especially for a particular reason: “Vail is a mecca for skiers.”

Mecca

City in western Saudi Arabia.

Note: As the place where Mohammed the prophet was born in the sixth century, it is the holiest city of Islam and the destination of numerous Muslim pilgrims.
Note: A “mecca” is a place that attracts people: “Hollywood is a mecca for would-be actors and actresses.”
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

Mecca 
1823, from Arabic Makkah, sacred city of Islam, birthplace of Muhammad, which every Muslim must visit at least once. Fig. sense of "any place one holds supremely sacred" (usually with lower-case m-) is from 1850.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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