Quechua
noun
Que·chua
ˈke-chə-wə 
ˈkech-wə
plural Quechua or Quechuas
1
: a family of languages spoken by Indian peoples of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina
2
a
: a member of an Indian people of central Peru
b
: a group of peoples forming the dominant element of the Inca Empire
Examples of Quechua in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
After all, the part called for a Native performer with basketball experience, and Bratt, whose mom’s side is Quechua and dad’s is Coahuiltecan Nation, spent three years on his high school’s varsity team.
—
Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 2024
But now there is also rap, hip-hop, and trap performed in Quechua, thanks to young artists who have chosen to both spotlight the sound, and use it to call out injustices to Quechua people.
—Sisa Quispe, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Aug. 2024
During the lithium war in a future Bolivia, a Quechua teenager decides to become a surrogate to escape poverty, facing her mother’s fury and unleashing a family conflict in the midst of social turbulence, the synopsis runs.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 12 Aug. 2024
Cruz is learning Quechua, inspired by her Indigenous Bolivian dad and grandparents speaking the language.
—Damaly Gonzalez, refinery29.com, 3 Apr. 2024
Through ancestral knowledge and rituals, the Quechua community is trying to preserve the glacial cap and its ecosystem.
—Caterina De Biasio, Vogue, 3 July 2024
On the other side of the world, six Indigenous Quechua communities of the Peruvian Andes govern the Parque de la Papa (Potato Park) in Pisac, Cusco, a mountainous landscape that is one of the original homelands of the potato.
—Ashish Kothari, Scientific American, 1 June 2021
Some groups have been granted autonomous rule—for example, the Acehnese in Indonesia and the indigenous Aymara and Quechua communities in Bolivia.
—Lars-Erik Cederman, Foreign Affairs, 12 Feb. 2019
Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 2024
But now there is also rap, hip-hop, and trap performed in Quechua, thanks to young artists who have chosen to both spotlight the sound, and use it to call out injustices to Quechua people.
—Sisa Quispe, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Aug. 2024
During the lithium war in a future Bolivia, a Quechua teenager decides to become a surrogate to escape poverty, facing her mother’s fury and unleashing a family conflict in the midst of social turbulence, the synopsis runs.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 12 Aug. 2024
Cruz is learning Quechua, inspired by her Indigenous Bolivian dad and grandparents speaking the language.
—Damaly Gonzalez, refinery29.com, 3 Apr. 2024
Through ancestral knowledge and rituals, the Quechua community is trying to preserve the glacial cap and its ecosystem.
—Caterina De Biasio, Vogue, 3 July 2024
On the other side of the world, six Indigenous Quechua communities of the Peruvian Andes govern the Parque de la Papa (Potato Park) in Pisac, Cusco, a mountainous landscape that is one of the original homelands of the potato.
—Ashish Kothari, Scientific American, 1 June 2021
Some groups have been granted autonomous rule—for example, the Acehnese in Indonesia and the indigenous Aymara and Quechua communities in Bolivia.
—Lars-Erik Cederman, Foreign Affairs, 12 Feb. 2019
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Quechua.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near Quechua
Cite this Entry
“Quechua.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Quechua. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Quechua
noun
Que·chua
ˈkech-(ə-)wə
kə-ˈchü-ə
plural Quechua or Quechuas
: a family of closely related languages spoken by Indigenous peoples of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, and Argentina
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