Tikal

American

[tee-kahl] / tiˈkɑl /

noun

an ancient Mayan city occupied c200 b.c. to a.d. 900, an important center of Mayan civilization, situated in Petén in the jungles of northern Guatemala and the site of significant archaeological discoveries in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

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.

Ashcroft, 66, was part of a birdwatching group visiting the ancient Maya city of Tikal, a Unesco World Heritage site, in February 2023.

From BBC • Jul. 23, 2025

The ancient Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacán, located in modern-day Mexico, and the Maya city of Tikal, also located in Petén, were both larger and more influential than the relative backwater of Chochkitam.

From National Geographic • Jan. 26, 2024

They used quartz sand for water filtration, sometimes importing it from great distances to massive cities like Tikal in what is now northern Guatemala.

From Science Daily • Oct. 9, 2023

Artifacts and hieroglyphic texts suggest Teotihuacan warriors or emissaries visited Maya cities such as Tikal in present-day Guatemala, perhaps applying military pressure to meddle in Maya politics.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 20, 2022

Having unified Tikal, he built up his forces for a long-delayed counterattack.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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