Did you know?
Mosques were known to the English-speaking world long before we called them mosques. In the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, we used many different variations of the word—moseak, muskey, moschy, mos’keh, among others—until we finally hit on mosquee, emulating Middle French. The Middle French word had come by way of Italian and Old Spanish from the Arabic word for "temple," which is masjid. In the early 1700s, we settled on the present spelling, and mosque thus joined other English words related to Muslim worship: mihrab, for the special niche in a mosque that points towards Mecca; minaret, for the tall slender tower of a mosque; and muezzin, for the crier who, standing in the minaret, calls the hour of daily prayers.
Examples of mosque in a Sentence
Munir Ahmed, Arkansas Online, 8 Feb. 2026
The deadliest mosque bombing in Islamabad since 2008, the attack comes as Pakistan faces a sharp rise in militant violence across the nation.
—Munir Ahmed, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026
Images in the aftermath of the attack showed bodies covered in blood lying on the floor of the mosque surrounded by shards of glass and debris.
—Sophia Saifi, CNN Money, 6 Feb. 2026
Before the immigration crackdown, mosques and malls buzzed, with people gathering during evenings to sip chai or have henna drawn on their hands.
—CBS News, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for mosque
Cite this Entry
“Mosque.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mosque. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mosque
noun
