Lebanon
Americannoun
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a republic at the E end of the Mediterranean, N of Israel. 3,927 sq. mi. (10,170 sq. km). Beirut.
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a city in SE Pennsylvania.
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a city in N central Tennessee.
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a town in central Indiana.
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a town in W New Hampshire.
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a town in W Oregon.
noun
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Lebanon was established in 1920 from remnants of the Ottoman Empire. Its mixed Christian and Muslim population generally lived peacefully under a weak central government until the 1970s. Israel invaded in 1978 to challenge the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) influence in Lebanon and to stop PLO raids on Israel. During the 1980s Lebanon became the scene of intense fighting between PLO, Syrian, and Israeli forces, as well as indigenous Christian and Muslim factions. Terrorist bombings and the taking of foreign nationals (including American citizens) as hostages became common events. By 1992, Syria had emerged as the dominant influence in Lebanon. Democratic elections were held in the mid-1990s.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Yet an issue far removed from the conflict’s epicenter may end up being the biggest obstacle to any treaty: Lebanon.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
With neither side willing to back down, a new confrontation over Lebanon appears to be a matter of time.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
Conflict in Lebanon has become a centrepiece of weeks of stop-start efforts to bring a formal end to the war.
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
Tehran had warned that Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon would trigger another wave of retaliatory strikes.
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026
Phineas says he wants to go home to his mother's house in Lebanon, New Hampshire, twenty miles away.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.