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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

Former president Barack Obama released a Situation Room view when Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a US special forces raid in Pakistan in 2011.

From Barron's • Feb. 28, 2026

Police said the men were linked with Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based Islamist group, and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a Kashmir offshoot of the jihadist group Al-Qaeda.

From Barron's • Nov. 12, 2025

President Ahmed al-Sharaa was once aligned with Islamic State before switching allegiances to Al-Qaeda, then ultimately swore off extremism as he and his forces fought to control Syria.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025

For many years, the Malian government has been struggling against both Tuareg rebels seeking a breakaway state in the north and jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

From BBC • Feb. 22, 2025

The commander whose militia first emerged as an Al-Qaeda affiliate broke ranks with the jihadist group in 2016 and has been trying to polish his image since then.

From BBC • Dec. 8, 2024