minaret
Americannoun
-
minarets
plural
noun
-
a slender tower of a mosque having one or more balconies from which the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer
-
any structure resembling this
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of minaret
1675–85; < French minaret, Spanish minarete, or Italian minaretto ≪ Arabic manārah lighthouse, perhaps akin to nār fire
Explanation
A minaret is a tall, slim tower on a mosque. Traditionally, a minaret is used to call Muslims to prayer five times each day. Originally built as ventilation systems in hot climates, modern minarets are usually outfitted with speakers, so the call to prayer can be broadcast from the tower. Minarets are also visual cues to Muslims, marking a mosque's location much like the spire on a church does. Minaret is a French word that comes from the Arabic manarah or manarat, meaning "lamp, lighthouse, or minaret."
Vocabulary lists containing minaret
Built To Last: Architectural Parlance
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English Words Derived from Arabic
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National Spelling Bee '14: Prelims Round 2
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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:
Speaking to the BBC from a government compound with a gleaming golden minaret, Mehdi Nobani, said neither Israel nor the US had achieved their military objectives, including regime change.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
He saw great beauty in the natural world, often sharing photos with friends of hawks soaring over the mosque’s minaret.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
With its palm trees standing alongside the minaret and its nondescript suburban homes lining the street, this suburb presents the image of a peaceful, multicultural America.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
To reach Ghorjomi mosque, one of the biggest, we drove up hairpin mountain lanes, edged with blue hydrangeas, until we spotted the minaret.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
We were so busy, I barely noticed the call to evening prayers from the minaret in the distance or the sun setting outside our window.
From "Amal Unbound" by Aisha Saeed
"I could talk to you for three hours about the family lineages, the mosques' minarets and why the mud-brick walls never collapse in the rain," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026
The wheat and potato fields there run right up to the Gaza border fence, within sight of the apartment buildings, water towers and minarets of the Palestinian village of Abasan just beyond it.
From New York Times ● Apr. 6, 2024
As Yildiz rushes up and down the slender minarets of Grand Mosques to light up the Istanbul skyline every Ramadan, the future of Mahya remains uncertain, with no apparent successor in sight.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 11, 2024
Another video verified by HRW showed an ablution hall in Liujiaguo mosque in southern Ningxia being demolished shortly after the removal of its two minarets and a dome.
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2023
“It’s a generational contest this year,” Sarah says, pointing at the labels on the minarets.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
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.
