Germany

[ jur-muh-nee ]

noun
  1. a republic in central Europe: after World War II divided into four zones, British, French, U.S., and Soviet, and in 1949 into East Germany and West Germany; East and West Germany were reunited in 1990. 137,852 sq. mi. (357,039 sq. km). Capital: Berlin.

  • Official name Federal Republic of Germany.
  • German Deutsch·land [doich-lahnt] /ˈdɔɪtʃˌlɑnt/ .
  • Formerly Deut·sches Reich [doi-chuhs rahykh] /ˈdɔɪ tʃəs ˈraɪx/ .

Words Nearby Germany

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Germany in a sentence

  • Gottlieb Conrad Pfeffel, one of the best poets of Germany, died.

  • She must be freed through the progress of Liberal ideas in France and Germany—not by her own inherent energies.

    Glances at Europe | Horace Greeley
  • Everybody began talking at once the minute dinner was served, as they always do at table in Germany.

  • When we reached the hotel everybody went in to take a siesta—that "Mittags-Schlaf" which is law in Germany.

  • Of course, the usual international operations for obtaining gold were denied to Germany.

    Readings in Money and Banking | Chester Arthur Phillips

British Dictionary definitions for Germany

Germany

/ (ˈdʒɜːmənɪ) /


noun
  1. a country in central Europe: in the Middle Ages the centre of the Holy Roman Empire; dissolved into numerous principalities; united under the leadership of Prussia in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War; became a republic with reduced size in 1919 after being defeated in World War I; under the dictatorship of Hitler from 1933 to 1945; defeated in World War II and divided by the Allied Powers into four zones, which became established as East and West Germany in the late 1940s; reunified in 1990: a member of the European Union. It is flat and low-lying in the north with plateaus and uplands (including the Black Forest and the Bavarian Alps) in the centre and south. Official language: German. Religion: Christianity, Protestant majority. Currency: euro. Capital: Berlin. Pop: 81 147 265 (2013 est). Area: 357 041 sq km (137 825 sq miles): German name: Deutschland Official name: Federal Republic of Germany See also East Germany, West Germany Related adjective: Teutonic

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Germany

Germany

Republic in north-central Europe, divided into East Germany and West Germany in 1949 and reunited in 1990. Officially called the Federal Republic of Germany.

Notes for Germany

Germany was a collection of competing states until it was unified during the second half of the nineteenth century under the leadership of Otto von Bismarck.

Notes for Germany

Germany's industrial, colonial, and naval expansion was considered a threat by the British and French and was one of the main causes of World War I, in which Germany was badly defeated.

Notes for Germany

After the defeat of the Nazis in World War II, Germany was divided into four zones occupied by British, French, Soviet, and American forces.

Notes for Germany

Since reunification Germany has become Europe's leading economic power. (See East Germany and West Germany under “World History since 1550.”)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.