Aztec
Americannoun
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Aztecs
plural
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a member of a Nahuatl-speaking state in central Mexico that was conquered by Cortés in 1521.
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Also called classical Nahuatl. the variety of Nahuatl that served as the medium of Aztec civilization, aboriginally written in a chiefly pictographic script.
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the Nahuatl language.
noun
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a member of a Mexican Indian people who established a great empire, centred on the valley of Mexico, that was overthrown by Cortés and his followers in the early 16th century
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the language of the Aztecs See also Nahuatl
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of Aztec
1780–90; < Spanish azteca < Nahuatl aztēcah, plural of aztēcatl person from Aztlān, the legendary place of origin of the Aztecs
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:
Inspired by my trip to Xochimilco, I decided to see what else I could piece together of the Aztec world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
At the Spanish Cultural Center, a guard pointed me downstairs to the Calmécac, a school for Aztec nobility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Five hundred years ago, the Aztec empire thrived around five interconnected lakes in the central Valley of Mexico, with the island-capital Tenochtitlan at its heart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Appeared in the August 29, 2026, print edition as 'In Search of Mexico’s Lost Aztec World'.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Aztec ruins hold no special interest for me.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
“Insects were valued by the Aztecs for their high protein content,” explains Elena Reygadas, Rosetta’s owner and head chef.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The historical invisibility of the Aztecs began to be reversed in the 1920s, thanks to artists like Diego Rivera and his wife, Frida Kahlo, who celebrated pre-Hispanic culture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The Teotihuacán is an ancient city, home to massive pyramids, and predates the Aztecs.
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026
However, once Hernán Cortés triumphed, the conquistadors went from waging war — vanquishing the Aztecs — to the project of subjugating Indigenous holdouts and building a self-sustaining territory loyal to the crown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2026
When we in the United States think of the most populous New World societies existing in 1492, only those of the Aztecs and the Incas tend to come to our minds.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
