Minaret

//mɪnəˈɹɛt// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The tall slender tower of an Islamic mosque, from which the muezzin recites the adhan (call to prayer).

    "And in the background of the picture, just out of focus behind the man, was a soaring minaret outlined against a shockingly blue sky."

  2. 2
    slender tower with balconies wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
antenna towerbarbicanbelfrybell towercampanilecolossus

Example

More examples

"The steeple of the cathedral of Seville used to be a minaret."

Etymology

First attested in 1682. Borrowed from French minaret, from Ottoman Turkish مناره (Turkish minare), from Arabic مَنَارَة (manāra, “lighthouse”). See note on pronunciations and borrowing of words with ـَة (-a). From the same Proto-Semitic root *nūr- (“light”) as menorah.

More for "minaret"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.