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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 yɑ, -yə /

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 yə /

noun

plural

Mayas,

plural

Maya

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

• Mayan
  adjective
• mayan
  adjective

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

In crafting what was then the style of the future, the architects at the time were influenced by Egyptian and Maya motifs.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

About the author: Maya MacGuineas is the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

From Barron's • May 8, 2026

Maya Angelou’s autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” was included in the purge; Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” was not.

From Salon • May 3, 2026

It will replace a previous lawsuit filed in a Canadian court by the family of one surviving victim, 12-year-old Maya Gebala, which is being voluntarily withdrawn.

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026

And now Maya was about to make it really easy for Ellie to be mean to her—in front of a whole bunch of ice-cream-eating kids!

From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio