Crossword Clue: Kenyan port on the Indian Ocean
Here's the answer to the Kenyan port on the Indian Ocean crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: MOMBASA
The answer to "Kenyan port on the Indian Ocean" is MOMBASA. Mombasa runs 7 letters — 3 vowels and 4 consonants — opening with M and closing on A. In a grid it fills a 7-square slot whose letters are each shared with a crossing word, so the intersections do a lot of the heavy lifting when the clue itself is tough.
Origin & meaning
Mombasa is Kenya's oldest and second-largest city, on the Indian Ocean coast. It has been a trading port for over a thousand years, controlled by Arabs, Portuguese, and others. Fort Jesus, built by the Portuguese, guards its old harbor.
Common usage
You'll see MOMBASA in grids regularly — its 7-letter, 3 vowels shape is exactly what setters need to bridge trickier entries. When one intersecting letter is already in place, especially the M or A, MOMBASA tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like MOMBASA are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet MOMBASA again and again, and recognizing it instantly is one of the quiet skills that separates fast solvers from slow ones.
Stuck on this clue?
The fastest way past a stubborn clue like this one is the grid itself: pencil in the easy crossing answers first, and MOMBASA will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue MOMBASA — sometimes with a straight dictionary definition, sometimes with wordplay, a pun, or a fill-in-the-blank — but the answer itself stays the same. Learning to spot the answer behind the disguise is a core crossword skill.
Example sentences
- "Once the M was confirmed by the crossing word, MOMBASA was the only entry that fit."
- "A 7-letter slot and a clue like 'Kenyan port on the Indian Ocean'? That's MOMBASA nine times out of ten."
- "I second-guessed it, but the crossing answers confirmed MOMBASA was right."