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• al-Qaeda
  al-Qaeda

  noun

  a radical Sunni Muslim organization dedicated to the elimination of a Western presence in Arab countries and militantly opposed to Western foreign policy: founded by Osama bin Laden in 1988.
• Al Qaeda
  Al Qaeda

  An Islamic terrorist network headed by Osama bin Laden. It is generally believed to have been responsible for the September 11 attacks.

al-Qaeda

American  

[al-key-duh, ‑-kahy-duh] / ælˈkeɪ də, ‑ˈkaɪ də /

Or al-Qaida

noun

1. a radical Sunni Muslim organization dedicated to the elimination of a Western presence in Arab countries and militantly opposed to Western foreign policy: founded by Osama bin Laden in 1988.

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al-Qaeda British  

/ ælˈkaɪdə, ælkɑːˈiːdə /

noun

1. a loosely-knit militant Islamic organization led and funded by Osama bin Laden, by whom it was established in the late 1980s from Arab volunteers who had fought the Soviet troops previously based in Afghanistan; known or believed to be behind a number of operations against Western, especially US, interests, including bomb attacks on two US embassies in Africa in 1998 and the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York in 2001

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Al Qaeda Cultural  

1. An Islamic terrorist network headed by Osama bin Laden. It is generally believed to have been responsible for the September 11 attacks.

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Etymology

Origin of al-Qaeda

From the Arabic word al-qa'ida, literally, the base

Example Sentences

Mali has faced insurgencies for years from the separatists in the north, and groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026

Relations strained further when US troops killed al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil in 2011 without telling Islamabad, and Pakistan faced accusations of complicity in harbouring the fugitive.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

Muhammad Rahim arrived at Guantanamo in March 2008 and was accused by the CIA of being a close associate of the al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

He wrote extensively about the rise of al-Qaeda affiliates in the region and the growing influence of tech and new outsourcing industries while cultivating a taste for offbeat and obscure stories.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026

“It is not good that outside elements, like al-Qaeda, are ruining Afghanistan.”

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai