Aqaba

American  

[ah-kuh-buh, ak-uh-] / ˈɑ kə bə, ˈæk ə- /

Also Akaba

noun

1. a seaport in southwestern Jordan, at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba.

2. Gulf of Aqaba, an arm of the Red Sea, between Saudi Arabia and Egypt. 100 miles (160 km) long.

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Aqaba British  

/ ˈækəbə /

noun

1. the only port in Jordan, in the southwest, on the Gulf of Aqaba . Pop: 80 790 (2004)

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Etymology

Origin of Aqaba

First recorded in 1905–10; from Arabic; shortening of al-ʿaqabat Aylah “the mountain pass of Aylah”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Aqaba

At least one attack targeted Jordan’s only port, Aqaba.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

A spokesman for Adalah said activists from Egypt had been transferred to Taba at Egypt's border with Israel, while those from Jordan had been transferred to Aqaba.

From Barron's ● May 21, 2026

Starting in late 2022, urchins had been dying en masse at the gulf’s northern terminus near Aqaba, Jordan.

From Science Magazine ● May 28, 2024

Bulos reported from Aqaba and King from Washington.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2024

Midian was properly the district which stretched along the western coast of the Gulf of Aqaba towards Mecca, if not towards Yemen.

From Early Israel and the Surrounding Nations by A. H. (Archibald Henry) Sayce

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