Mecca

American  

[mek-uh] / ˈmɛk ə /

noun

• Meccas
  plural

1. Also Mekka; Makkah a city in and the capital of Hejaz, in western Saudi Arabia: birthplace of Muhammad; spiritual center of Islam.

2. (often lowercase) any place that many people visit or hope to visit.

   The president's birthplace is a mecca for his admirers.

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Mecca British  

/ ˈmɛkə /

noun

1. Arabic name: Makkah.  a city in W Saudi Arabia, joint capital (with Riyadh) of Saudi Arabia: birthplace of Mohammed; the holiest city of Islam, containing the Kaaba. Pop: 1 529 000 (2005 est)

2. (sometimes not capital) a place that attracts many visitors

   Athens is a Mecca for tourists

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Mecca ¹ Cultural  

1. 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.

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Mecca ² Cultural  

1. City in western Saudi Arabia.

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Discover More

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

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.

A “mecca” is a place that attracts people: “Hollywood is a mecca for would-be actors and actresses.”

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Meccan
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Meccas
  plural

Explanation

A mecca is a place that attracts people to it. The huge outlet mall near your hometown is a mecca for shoppers and bargain hunters. When it's capitalized, Mecca is the holiest city for Muslims, the place where Muhammad was born. Observant Muslims believe it's important to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at some point in their lives. Because this city near the Red Sea draws so many visitors every year, the word mecca gradually came to mean "place where people really want to go." So you might describe Las Vegas as a mecca for gamblers and Cirque du Soleil fans. The original Arabic word is Makkah.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Mecca Meccas

The 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation said attacks on Mecca and Medina province, where Islam's second holiest shrine is located, constituted an "unacceptable and intolerable transgression".

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Turki al-Maliki said the targeting of Mecca, which is the home of Islam's most sacred shrine and the focal point of the Hajj pilgrimage, was a "disgraceful act".

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

The leaders of the three majority Sunni Muslim nations signed the agreement at a ceremony in Mecca, home to the holiest site in Islam.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Sharif and Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir have also arrived in the kingdom, with Islamabad's information ministry saying on Friday they performed a pilgrimage to Mecca.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

Because I had come to them with a letter from a friend, he was going to stay at his son’s home, and let me use his suite, until I could get on to Mecca.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Unlike the fashion Meccas of Paris and Milan, Nairobi does not follow seasons as the fashion scene is too small.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2022

“This is a link to all the English players playing or coaching professionally abroad, including in such footballing Meccas as the Cook Islands, the Philippines and Vanuatu.”

From The Guardian ● Feb. 7, 2018

“That’s one of the logging Meccas of Oregon,’’ Serrill said.

From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2017

The wealthy Meccas on the coast routinely ignore orders from the national authorities, their aggressive technocrats think and act according to their own rules, and power flows where the money goes.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Such shrines as these are pilgrim shrines— Shrines to no code or creed confined; The Delphian vales, the Palestines, The Meccas of the mind."

From Gifts of Genius A Miscellany of Prose and Poetry by American Authors by Various