Inca
Americannoun
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a member of any of the dominant groups of South American Indian peoples who established an empire in Peru prior to the Spanish conquest.
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a ruler or member of the royal family in the Incan empire.
noun
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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
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the ruler or king of this empire or any member of his family
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the language of the Incas See also Quechua
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of Inca
1585–95; < Spanish < Quechua inka ruler of the Inca state
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.
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
Visitors can take a series of trains and buses to reach the site, or hike along the Inca trail with a registered tour operator.
From BBC • Dec. 31, 2025
The two trains involved in the accident were operated by PeruRail and Inca Rail respectively.
From BBC • Dec. 30, 2025
The entire empire would suffer if she was offered to the Sun God, and the Sapa Inca would be cursed.
From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis
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.
