Aqaba

[ ah-kuh-buh, ak-uh- ]

noun

1. a seaport in southwestern Jordan, at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba.
2. Gulf of Aqaba, an arm of the Red Sea, between Saudi Arabia and Egypt. 100 miles (160 km) long.

Aqaba

/ ˈækəbə /

noun

1. the only port in Jordan, in the southwest, on the Gulf of Aqaba . Pop: 80 790 (2004)

Word History and Origins

Origin of Aqaba¹

First recorded in 1905–10; from Arabic; shortening of al-ʿaqabat Aylah “the mountain pass of Aylah”

Example Sentences

Footage from Aqaba, near Tubas, shows a house stained with blood.

From BBC

The rebels fired its new “Palestine” missile, complete with a warhead painted like a Palestinian keffiyeh checkered scarf, at the southern Gulf of Aqaba port of Eilat in Israel on Monday.

From Seattle Times

Starting in late 2022, urchins had been dying en masse at the gulf’s northern terminus near Aqaba, Jordan.

From Science Magazine

The Egyptian state news media reported that its forces had shot down a drone off the coast of Dahab, a beach town on the Gulf of Aqaba roughly 90 miles south of Eilat.

From New York Times

It said its forces arrested two suspects in the town of Aqaba near Tubas, without specifying whether they were the wanted militants in the besieged building.

From Seattle Times