Qom

American

[koom] / kʊm /

Or Qum

noun

a city in NW Iran, SW of Teheran, on the Qom river.

Qom British

/ kɒm /

noun

a city in NW central Iran: a place of pilgrimage for Shiite Muslims. Pop: 1 045 000 (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.

After the Iraq war, Khamenei spent time in the city of Qom, where he was mentored by Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, a radical cleric who is considered the spiritual father of Iran’s hard-liners.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

A bridge near the holy city of Qom and another carrying a railway line in the central city of Kashan were struck, according to regional officials quoted by state media.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

After the bombing began, Mehrnoosh Arabestani, 42, said she wasn’t able to reach her cousins in the Iranian city of Qom for five days because communications were shut down.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

The buildings in Tehran and Qom where they were meant to meet were bombed this week but they are reported to be meeting virtually.

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026

Rugs from Qom always use a bit of turquoise, and the ones from Naein are ivory with light blue branches.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

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