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”

Example Sentences

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

And after the outbreak was reported near Aqaba, one of its next stops was at a port in Egypt that receives ships from that Jordanian city.

From Science Magazine • May 28, 2024

Bulos reported from Aqaba and King from Washington.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2024

The Egyptian state news media reported that its forces had shot down a drone off the coast of Dahab, a beach town on the Gulf of Aqaba roughly 90 miles south of Eilat.

From New York Times • Dec. 16, 2023

His province of Edom adjoined her own possessions; his ports on the Gulf of Aqaba were open to her merchants, and the frankincense which grew in her dominions was needed for the temple at Jerusalem.

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