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Synonyms

Sahara

American  
[suh-har-uh, -hair-uh, -hahr-uh] / səˈhær ə, -ˈhɛər ə, -ˈhɑr ə /

noun

  1. a desert in northern Africa, extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Nile valley. About 3,500,000 square miles (9,065,000 square kilometers).

  2. any arid waste.


Sahara British  
/ səˈhɑːrə /

noun

  1. a desert in N Africa, extending from the Atlantic to the Red Sea and from the Mediterranean to central Mali, Niger, Chad, and the Sudan: the largest desert in the world, occupying over a quarter of Africa; rises to over 3300 m (11 000 ft) in the central mountain system of the Ahaggar and Tibesti massifs; large reserves of iron ore, oil, and natural gas. Area: 9 100 000 sq km (3 500 000 sq miles). Average annual rainfall: less than 254 mm (10 in.). Highest recorded temperature: 58°C (136.4°F)

"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

Sahara Cultural  
  1. Desert in northern Africa.


Discover More

At approximately 3.5 million square miles, it is the world's largest desert.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of Sahara

From Arabic ṣaḥra (plural ṣaḥārā ) “desert”

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.

See Examples For:

Remittances flowed into remote villages where the most reliable way to reinvest the windfall was to send another family member across the Sahara.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 7, 2026

Zuma undertook the trip as MK leader but was pictured in front of the South African flag when he met Morocco's foreign minister and brought up Western Sahara.

From BBC Aug. 5, 2026

This happened in 2021, after Spain allowed a pro-independence leader from Western Sahara to get treatment in a Spanish hospital.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 31, 2026

Polisario guerillas fought a long war with Morocco over independence of the Western Sahara region.

From Barron's Jul. 31, 2026

I know Sahara probably wonders why we always go to her house instead of mine, but she never asks.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

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