Alexander the Great

American  

noun

1. 356–323 b.c., king of Macedonia 336–323: conqueror of Greek city-states and of the Persian empire from Asia Minor and Egypt to India.

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Alexander the Great British  

noun

1. 356–323 _bc , king of Macedon, who conquered Greece (336), Egypt (331), and the Persian Empire (328), and founded Alexandria

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Alexander the Great Cultural  

1. A ruler of Greece in the fourth century b.c. As a general, he conquered most of the ancient world, extending the civilization of Greece east to India. Alexander is said to have wept because there were no worlds left to conquer. In Alexander's youth, the philosopher Aristotle was his tutor.

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Before beginning his conquests, Alexander allegedly unloosed the Gordian knot by cutting through it. It was believed that the person who unfastened the Gordian knot would rule a vast territory in Asia. Alexander founded the city of Alexandria, which became a great center of learning in Egypt (see also Egypt).

Example Sentences

In recent weeks, he’s been talking to other people about Napoleon and Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, comparing himself to the most consequential Western leaders in history.

From Slate • May 7, 2026

Figures like Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Napoleon were adventurers, and while perhaps not personally admirable, they changed history and changed it irrevocably:

From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026

"Iran doesn't have an independence day because they have not been conquered since the days of Alexander the Great."

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026

Of Alexander the Great that he acted on behalf of the Greek cities of Asia that he had freed from Persian rule?

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

With the Greek conquest of all advanced societies from Greece east to India under Alexander the Great in the late fourth century B.C., power finally made its first shift irrevocably westward.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond