Ali

plural Alis

1. A male given name from Arabic.
2. IslamThe caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, considered by Shiites to be Muhammad's first successor (imam).

   Synonyms: Haydar

3. A surname from Arabic.

plural Alis · alternative Aly · alternative Alee

1. A diminutive of the female given name Alison or of its variants.
2. A diminutive of the male given name Alistair or of its variants.

1. Synonym of Ngari: the Mandarin Chinese-derived name.

   Liu cursed the lifeless wasteland around them. This wasn't another planet, it was Ali prefecture, Tibet. Altitude: 4,500 metres. And these astronomers were on a mission.

   2012 October 20, “Staring at the sun from the roof of the world”, in South China Morning Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 Dec 2024, China

   2 more examples

   The Ngari area is now known as the Ali Prefecture of the TAR. Commonly called Ali, the Chinese-built town of Shiquanhe is the administrative center of the area.[…] Although the area of Ali Prefecture is around the same size as Italy or the state of Arizona (300,000 sq km), it is dominated by the barren Changthang Plateau and is sparsely populated with only approximately 70,000 people.

   2000, “To Kailash”, in Atsushi Kanamaru, editor, Mapping the Tibetan World, 1st edition, Kotan Publishing, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 136, column 1

   The Ali Cosmic Microwave Background Polarisation Telescope (AliCPT), perched at 5,250 metres (17,220 ft) in Tibet’s remote Ali prefecture, was finished this month after eight years of construction involving 16 institutions worldwide, including Stanford University, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

   2025 July 16, Ling Xin, “China joins US in hunt for ripples in spacetime with new telescope in Tibet”, in South China Morning Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Jul 2025, Science

   Synonyms: Ngari