Sinai

American  

[sahy-nahy, sahy-nee-ahy] / ˈsaɪ naɪ, ˈsaɪ niˌaɪ /

noun

1. Also called Sinai Peninsula.  a peninsula in northeastern Egypt, at the northern end of the Red Sea between the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba. 230 miles (370 km) long.

2. Mount Sinai, the mountain, in southern Sinai, of uncertain identity, on which Moses received the law. Exodus 19.

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Sinai British  

/ ˈsaɪnaɪ, ˈsaɪnɪˌaɪ /

noun

1. a mountainous peninsula of NE Egypt at the N end of the Red Sea, between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba: occupied by Israel in 1967; fully restored by 1982

2. the mountain where Moses received the Law from God (Exodus 19–20): often identified as Jebel Musa, sometimes as Jebel Serbal, both on the S Sinai Peninsula

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Sinai Cultural  

1. Peninsula in northeastern Egypt (see also Egypt), bordered by the Gulf of Aqaba, an arm of the Red Sea, to the east, and the Gulf of Suez, another arm of the Red Sea, to the west.

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Discover More

In the Bible (see also Bible), Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.

Sinai has been the scene of fighting during the Arab-Israeli conflict. Israel conquered and occupied Sinai in the Six-Day War but returned the region to Egypt in 1982.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Sinaitic
  adjective
• Sinaic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Sinai

From Late Latin Sinai, from Greek Siná, from Hebrew Sīnaī, of uncertain origin and meaning

Example Sentences

David is a trustee of Temple Sinai in Washington, D.C.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026

Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have successfully reversed aging in blood-forming stem cells in mice by repairing defects in structures known as lysosomes.

From Science Daily • May 12, 2026

Dr. Laurie Margolies, the chief of breast imaging at the Dubin Breast Center at Mount Sinai, has spent nearly four decades reading mammograms, starting back when radiologists squinted at film on light boxes.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026

Dr. Sundar Jagannath, network director for the Center of Excellence for Multiple Myeloma at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, meanwhile, supports the use of the term cure.

From Slate • Mar. 29, 2026

All the adoptive-parents books Jonah had ever seen acted like there was one commandment Moses had forgotten to bring down from Mount Sinai: tell adopted kids the truth.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix