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• maya
  maya

  noun

  the power, as of a god, to produce illusions.
• Maya
  Maya

  noun

  a member of a major pre-Columbian civilization of the Yucatán Peninsula that reached its peak in the 9th century a.d. and produced magnificent ceremonial cities with pyramids, a sophisticated mathematical and calendar system, hieroglyphic writing, and fine sculpture, painting, and ceramics.

maya

¹ American  

[mah-yah, -yuh] / ˈmɑ jɑ, -jə /

noun

Hinduism.

1. the power, as of a god, to produce illusions.

2. the production of an illusion.

3. (in Vedantic philosophy) the illusion of the reality of sensory experience and of the experienced qualities and attributes of oneself.

4. Also called Mahamaya.  (initial capital letter) a goddess personifying the power that creates phenomena.

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Maya ² American  

[mah-yuh] / ˈmɑ jə /

noun

• Mayas,
  plural
• Maya
  plural

1. a member of a major pre-Columbian civilization of the Yucatán Peninsula that reached its peak in the 9th century a.d. and produced magnificent ceremonial cities with pyramids, a sophisticated mathematical and calendar system, hieroglyphic writing, and fine sculpture, painting, and ceramics.

2. a member of a modern Indigenous people of southern Mexico, Guatemala, and parts of Honduras who are the descendants of this ancient civilization.

3. any of the Mayan languages; the historical and modern languages of the Maya.

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adjective

1. Mayan.

Maya ¹ British  

/ ˈmaɪə /

noun

1. Also called: Mayan.  a member of an American Indian people of Yucatan, Belize, and N Guatemala, having an ancient culture once characterized by outstanding achievements in architecture, astronomy, chronology, painting, and pottery

2. the language of this people See also Mayan

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Maya ² British  

/ ˈmɑːjə, ˈmɑːjɑː, ˈmaɪə /

noun

1. the Hindu goddess of illusion, the personification of the idea that the material world is illusory

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maya ³ British  

/ ˈmɑːjə, ˈmaɪə, ˈmɑːjɑː /

noun

1. Hinduism illusion, esp the material world of the senses regarded as illusory

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Mayan
  adjective
• mayan
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Maya
  plural
• Mayas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of maya¹

Borrowed into English from Sanskrit around 1815–25

Origin of Maya²

First recorded in 1810–20; from Spanish, from Yucatec Maya mayab “flat,” a self-designation

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

maya Maya Mayas

Covid was the great equalizer — it was impossible to stay detached, to maintain maya hata s krau.

From New York Times ● Mar. 30, 2022

Between the gods and mortal men and women there hung a veil, and its name was maya.

From The New Yorker ● Jul. 22, 2019

Hinduism itself stresses the pervasive power of maya or illusion.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 17, 2018

He believes in transcending the entanglements of maya by mortifying his flesh.

From Time Magazine Archive

There are two kinds of maya, or ferment, one known as sour, and the other as sweet maya.

From The Bacillus of Long Life a manual of the preparation and souring of milk for dietary purposes, together with and historical account of the use of fermente by Loudon Douglas

But as Maya MacGuineas, the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, points out, the national debt has doubled in the last 10 years and quadrupled in fewer than 20 years.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

On average, Indigenous Peruvians carried 10 copies of AMY1, compared with six among the Maya.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026

This summer’s food-safety scare is handing local farmers markets a massive customer surge, the Journal’s Amira McKee and Maya Davis write.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Talking to Maya ahead of the reveal during the live final, 28-year-old Lorenzo said he had "never met someone who feels so well matched to me" when reflecting on his relationship with Julia.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Angie is with the other girls on the relay team: Carmetta, Natalie, and Maya.

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

The officers looked around the area, including inside the nearby Mayas Cinemas, and realized the yelling was coming from inside the wall between the coffee shop and the theater, police said.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026

The ceremonial carvings may have been associated with the sacred ball game of the Mayas, rather than any use as an axe.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 14, 2022

“Some people say it will bring great benefits, but for us Mayas that work the land, that live here, we don’t see any benefits.”

From Washington Post ● Sep. 7, 2022

They talk about the bond between the Mayas and the bees, who provided them with honey for medicinal purposes while the Mayas protected and cared for them, a tradition they continue to uphold today.

From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2018

She spoke of the ancient medicines of other tribes, the Aztecas, Mayas, and even of those in the old, old country, the Moors.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya