haj
noun
Simple meaning
The fifth pillar of Islam is a pilgrimage to Mecca during the month of Dhu al-Hijja.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
hyIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈhaɪ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The fifth pillar of Islam is a pilgrimage to Mecca during the month of Dhu al-Hijja; at least once in a lifetime a Muslim is expected to make a religious journey to Mecca and the Kaaba
“For a Muslim the hajj is the ultimate act of worship.”
The pilgrimage to Mecca made by pious Muslims; the fifth of the five pillars of Islam.
A plush toy in the form of a shark, especially one manufactured by the Swedish company IKEA.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The fifth pillar of Islam is a pilgrimage to Mecca during the month of Dhu al-Hijja; at least once in a lifetime a Muslim is expected to make a religious journey to Mecca and the Kaaba
Used this way, haj is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a religious use: it carries the weight of tradition and ceremony.
“For a Muslim the hajj is the ultimate act of worship.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Religion/spirituality
- Historical writing
Nearby words
- hadj , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.