Skip to main content
al-Qaida

al-Qaida

68 9.9
A violent Islamist group that carries out terrorist attacks worldwide
  • proper noun
  • /ælˈkaɪdə/
  • NSFW
: al-Qaida
  • The group al-Qaida was responsible for the September 11 attacks.

Examples

  • The United States government took decisive action against al-Qaida after the September 11 attacks.

  • Intelligence agencies monitor al-Qaida activities across several continents.

  • Several countries have coordinated efforts to dismantle al-Qaida's networks.

  • Many countries have implemented security measures against al-Qaida.

  • He had nothing to do really with al-Qaida, but it made him famous.

  • Many countries have increased security measures to counter threats from al-Qaida.

  • After the 9/11 attacks, the world became more aware of the dangers posed by al-Qaida.

Synonyms

Qaeda
vsal-Qaida
  • NSFW
542 9.3

An armed Islamic group that plans terrorist attacks against the United States and other countries

is the form that includes the initial article or different punctuation
al Qaeda
vsal-Qaida
  • NSFW
528 9.2

A militant Islamic group that carries out terrorist attacks worldwide

is the hyphenated spelling form rather than the spaced form
al Qaida
vsal-Qaida
  • NSFW
87 7.5

A violent Islamic group that plans attacks around the world

is the single-word or hyphenated written variant instead of spaced
Al-Qaeda
vsal-Qaida
  • NSFW
83 8.6

An international violent group that follows extreme Islamic ideas and carries out terrorist attacks

is the same term but with different capitalization or punctuation
al-Qaeda
vsal-Qaida
  • NSFW
82 8.6

A violent group that says it acts for Islam and often plans attacks against the United States

is the same name but may differ in capitalization or punctuation
al-Qa'ida
vsal-Qaida
  • NSFW
2 8.9

A violent group that plans attacks in many countries and supports other similar groups

is the standard hyphenated spelling without an apostrophe

Surface Forms

al-Qaida main

Etymology

Al-Qaida comes from Arabic parts al- ('the') and qaida ('base' or 'foundation'), so the name literally means 'the base'. A helpful way to remember its modern use is that the group chose this name to show it was a central 'base' or core for fighters and operations, which is why the word became the label for the organization.