Arabia

American  

[uh-rey-bee-uh] / əˈreɪ bi ə /

noun

1. a peninsula in SW Asia, including Saudi Arabia, Yemen Arab Republic, People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait: divided in ancient times into Arabia Deserta, Arabia Petraea, and Arabia Felix. About 1,000,000 sq. mi. (2,600,000 sq. km).

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Arabia British  

/ əˈreɪbɪə /

noun

1. a great peninsula of SW Asia, between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf: consists chiefly of a desert plateau, with mountains rising over 3000 m (10 000 ft) in the west and scattered oases; includes the present-day countries of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. Area: about 2 600 000 sq km (1 000 000 sq miles)

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Arabia Cultural  

1. Peninsula in southwest Asia, bordered on the north by Jordan and Iraq, on the east by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the south by the Gulf of Aden, and on the west by the Red Sea. This historical region in the Middle East consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

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Discover More

Strategically important because it is situated at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa, Arabia has been coveted and controlled by many empires throughout history. The area's importance is all the greater today because of its fabulous oil reserves. The United States and the Soviet Union both competed for influence in Arabia after the British presence ended in the late 1960s. Arabian states joined the coalition against Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. (See also Persian Gulf War.)

Example Sentences

Relatively early in the conflict, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emeriates pivoted to exporting more of their oil through existing pipelines.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 18, 2026

In the following weeks, Pakistan, backed by Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, took the lead on negotiations weeks into the war.

From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026

You might have not seen him in the Premier League for a few years because he has been playing in Saudi Arabia and, since February for Fenerbahce in Turkey, but he has not changed.

From BBC • Jun. 16, 2026

“We expect Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. to ramp up back to preconflict rates relatively quickly while other producers could take longer—months not weeks.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026

In 1988 Zeitoun came to the United States on a tanker carrying oil from Saudi Arabia to Houston.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers