mosque
Americannoun
-
mosques
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mosque
1600–10; earlier mosquee < Middle French < Italian moschea ≪ Arabic masjid, derivative of sajada to worship, literally, prostrate oneself; the -ee seems to have been taken as diminutive suffix and dropped
Compare meaning
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Explanation
The mosque is the traditional Muslim place of worship. Architecturally, it often features a minaret, or onion-shaped dome, on top. Mosque stems from the Arabic word masjid, meaning "temple" or "place of worship." This building is very important religiously and politically, and can be a modest structure or an architectural masterpiece, such as the Great Mosque of Córdoba in Spain. Muslims, or practitioners of Islam, come together here and pray in rows facing in the direction of the holy city of Mecca.
Vocabulary lists containing mosque
World Religions
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The Middle East and Central Asia - Introductory
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The Middle East and Central Asia - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
After sunrise, villagers in Qusra, near the city of Nablus, walked through the scorched remains of the Al-Rahma mosque, broken tiles littering the ground, videos showed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
The name of one of the Israelis, a member of a security team for a nearby settlement, was written on a wall of the mosque.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
AFP footage showed dozens of Palestinians evacuating the area before the mosque was hit.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Some argue that a mosque much larger than the nearby Japanese Shinto shrine is disrespectful.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Or when Saint Sarah leads another session at the mosque on the powers of being free of societal beauty judgment—that my logical mind completely understands.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
Agents with their faces covered up to their eyes, in unmarked black SUVs with tinted windows, would wait outside churches, mosques, schools, daycares, courtrooms, and hospitals.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Ms. Smith travels through Bosnia and Kosovo and sees how Mr. Erdoğan’s government has renovated mosques and opened Turkish-language schools there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
The affected mosques are receiving support from specialist officers.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
She said she was astonished by what has been built in less than three years: "new hospitals, schools, mosques and a stadium".
From Barron's ● Jun. 6, 2026
Apparently, it hadn’t reached other mosques around the country at all.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
