Mecca

American  

[mek-uh] / ˈmɛk ə /

noun

Meccas plural

1. Also Mekka; Makkah a city in and the capital of Hejaz, in western Saudi Arabia: birthplace of Muhammad; spiritual center of Islam.

2. (often lowercase) any place that many people visit or hope to visit.

   The president's birthplace is a mecca for his admirers.

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Mecca British  

/ ˈmɛkə /

noun

1. Arabic name: Makkah.  a city in W Saudi Arabia, joint capital (with Riyadh) of Saudi Arabia: birthplace of Mohammed; the holiest city of Islam, containing the Kaaba. Pop: 1 529 000 (2005 est)

2. (sometimes not capital) a place that attracts many visitors

   Athens is a Mecca for tourists

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Mecca ¹ Cultural  

1. The birthplace of Muhammad, and thus the holiest city for Muslims. Muslims face in the direction of Mecca when they pray, and they are expected to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives. Mecca is in present-day Saudi Arabia.

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Mecca ² Cultural  

1. City in western Saudi Arabia.

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Discover More

Figuratively, a “mecca” is any place that attracts a great many people, especially for a particular reason: “Vail is a mecca for skiers.”

As the place where Mohammed the prophet was born in the sixth century, it is the holiest city of Islam and the destination of numerous Muslim pilgrims.

A “mecca” is a place that attracts people: “Hollywood is a mecca for would-be actors and actresses.”

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Meccan
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Meccas
  plural

Explanation

A mecca is a place that attracts people to it. The huge outlet mall near your hometown is a mecca for shoppers and bargain hunters. When it's capitalized, Mecca is the holiest city for Muslims, the place where Muhammad was born. Observant Muslims believe it's important to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at some point in their lives. Because this city near the Red Sea draws so many visitors every year, the word mecca gradually came to mean "place where people really want to go." So you might describe Las Vegas as a mecca for gamblers and Cirque du Soleil fans. The original Arabic word is Makkah.

Example Sentences

From dawn, crowds of pilgrims gathered in the valley of Mina, southeast of the holy city of Mecca, to throw pebbles at concrete pillars symbolising the devil.

From Barron's • May 27, 2026

With temperatures hitting 45C in Mecca this week, Saudi health workers have increasingly relied on drones to supply a vast array of medical clinics treating heat-stressed pilgrims during the hajj.

From Barron's • May 26, 2026

The 43-year-old professor said he regularly pours water on his face to stay cool, while racking up 30,000 steps a day as he explores Mecca.

From Barron's • May 25, 2026

The Saudi defence ministry posted a video on social media last week showing air defence batteries on the outskirts of the holy city of Mecca, which is in the country's west.

From BBC • May 25, 2026

He came, like me, to The Mecca in search of the nature and origin of the breach.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates