Najaf

American

[naj-af] / ˈnædʒ æf /

Also An-Najaf

noun

a city in central Iraq: holy city of the Shiʿites; shrine contains tomb of Ali (around a.d. 600–661), founder of the Shiʿite sect.

Najaf British

/ ˈnædʒæf /

noun

a holy city in central Iraq, near the River Euphrates; burial place of the Caliph Ali and a centre of the Shiite faith. Pop: 639 000 (2005 est)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Born in Najaf, Iraq, in 1958 to a leading Iranian clerical family, Larijani moved to Iran as a child and went on to earn a philosophy doctorate.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026

Most of them reside and run seminaries in the holy cities of Qom in Iran and Najaf in Iraq.

From Salon • Mar. 6, 2026

Born in Najaf, Iraq in 1957 to a prominent Shiite cleric who was close to the Islamic Republic's founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Larijani's family has been influential within Iran's political system for decades.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

More than 250 people were taken to hospital in Najaf province, and at least 322 patients including children were sent to hospitals in Diwaniyah province.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2025

The force was disposed in a semicircle, extending from the Shah Najaf to the barracks.

From Forty-one years in India From Subaltern To Commander-In-Chief by Roberts, Frederick Sleigh

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023