Word.ws English Dictionary

Timbuktu

/tɪm.bʌkˈtuː/

Timbuktu proper noun: a city in central Mali.

Proper noun

Timbuktu

  1. A city in central Mali.
  2. (figuratively) Any proverbially distant or remote place.
    • You can try every shop from here to Timbuktu, but you won't find another one like this.
    • Now, my little pesky pets, you're going to travel first-class in your own private compartment all the way to Timbuktu. And this time, you'll never come back.1970, The Aristocats (motion picture)

Timbuktu meaning in Hindi and Arabic

Timbuktu in Hindi

city
टिम्बकटू ṭimbakṭū, टिंबकटू ṭimbakṭū
distant place
टिम्बकटू ṭimbakṭū, टिंबकटू ṭimbakṭū

Timbuktu in Arabic

distant place
طَفْرَاوَى ṭafrāwā

Synonyms of Timbuktu

Forms of Timbuktu

alternative formTimbuctoo
alternative formTimbouctou
alternative formTimbuctu
alternative formTimbuktoo

Origin of Timbuktu

Unclear. See Timbuktu § Toponymy.

Questions about Timbuktu

What does Timbuktu mean?
Timbuktu means a city in central Mali.
What is Timbuktu in Hindi?
Timbuktu in Hindi is टिम्बकटू (ṭimbakṭū), टिंबकटू (ṭimbakṭū). See Timbuktu meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is Timbuktu?
Timbuktu is a proper noun.
How do you pronounce Timbuktu?
Timbuktu is pronounced /tɪm.bʌkˈtuː/ (US).

Words near Timbuktu in the dictionary

  1. timbs
  2. Timbses
  3. Timbuctoo
  4. Timbuctu
  5. Timbuktoo
  6. Timbuktu
  7. Timbumburi
  8. timburine
  9. timburines
  10. timdoodle
  11. timdoodles

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Timbuktu (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Timbuktu.wav, En-us-Timbuktu.oga.

Cite this entry: “Timbuktu.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/timbuktu. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.