Inca

American  

[ing-kuh] / ˈɪŋ kə /

noun

Incas plural

1. a member of any of the dominant groups of South American Indian peoples who established an empire in Peru prior to the Spanish conquest.

2. a ruler or member of the royal family in the Incan empire.

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Inca British  

/ ˈɪŋkə /

noun

1. a member of a South American Indian people whose great empire centred on Peru lasted from about 1100 _ad to the Spanish conquest in the early 1530s and is famed for its complex culture

2. the ruler or king of this empire or any member of his family

3. the language of the Incas See also Quechua

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Incan
  noun
• Incaic
  adjective
• Incan
  adjective
• pseudo-Incan
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Incas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Inca

1585–95; < Spanish < Quechua inka ruler of the Inca state

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Inca Incas

An Australian man has died after falling down a ravine while walking on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru, local authorities have said.

From BBC ● May 22, 2026

Maize held enormous cultural importance for the Inca and was used to make ceremonial fermented beer called 'chicha'.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2026

“Crypto use in Venezuela will persist and likely expand in the short term,” said Adam Zarazinski, chief executive officer of the crypto-intelligence firm Inca Digital.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026

The two trains involved were operated by PeruRail and Inca Rail respectively.

From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025

“I have heard he is disgraced, that he was sent away from Cuzco by the Sapa Inca himself.”

From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis

In the mid-16th century, however, Spanish conquistadors had defeated the Incas in Bolivia, and the Sapa Inca’s size pales in comparison with the figures in the painting’s lower third.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

"Guano was a highly sought-after resource the Incas would have wanted access to, playing an important role in the diplomatic arrangements between the Inca and the Chincha communities," Dr. Bongers said.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2026

“There’s a mystical weirdness about the place that is so cool,” Glasnow said of the ancient stone-walled structures of the Lost City of the Incas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2024

From there the Princess will head to Qoricancha, or “The Golden Temple” in Quechua language, considered the most important - and most sacred - temple by the Incas.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 3, 2023

Fortunately for Pizarro and unfortunately for the Incas, smallpox had arrived overland around 1526, killing much of the Inca population, including both the emperor Huayna Capac and his designated successor.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond