Babylon

[ bab-uh-luhn, -lon ]

noun

an ancient city of SW Asia, on the Euphrates River, famed for its magnificence and culture: capital of Babylonia and later of the Chaldean empire.
any rich and magnificent city believed to be a place of excessive luxury and wickedness.

a city on S Long Island, in SE New York.

Words Nearby Babylon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Babylon in a sentence

But Babylon asks us to do a little more: It wants us to empathize.
'Babylon' Review: The Dumb Lives of Trigger-Happy Cops | Melissa Leon | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
O daughter of Babylon… Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
Up to a Point: Shrugging Our Way Back to War in Iraq | P. J. O’Rourke | August 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Read Psalm 137, the one that was turned into the catchy reggae song “Rivers of Babylon.”
Up to a Point: Shrugging Our Way Back to War in Iraq | P. J. O’Rourke | August 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The Israelites were carried off to Babylon, where they wept by the waters.
ISIS Is About to Destroy Biblical History in Iraq | Christopher Dickey | July 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The many glories of Babylon, for example, lay unexplored not far from the boundaries of Baghdad.
Gertrude of Arabia, the Woman Who Invented Iraq | Clive Irving | June 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

Ezechias shews all his treasures to the ambassadors of Babylon: upon which Isaias foretells the Babylonish captivity.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various
As a nation, after the return from Babylon, under Nehemiah, the whole people and their rulers also entered into covenant with God.
The Ordinance of Covenanting | John Cunningham
The prophet foretells the seventy years captivity; after that the destruction of Babylon, and other nations.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various
And all this land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment: and all these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various
The prophet sends chains to divers kings, signifying that they must bend their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various

British Dictionary definitions for Babylon

Babylon

/ (ˈbæbɪlən) /

noun

the chief city of ancient Mesopotamia: first settled around 3000 bc: See also Hanging Gardens of Babylon
offensive (in Protestant polemic) the Roman Catholic Church, regarded as the seat of luxury and corruption

derogatory any society or group in a society considered as corrupt or as a place of exile by another society or group, esp White Britain as viewed by some West Indians

Origin of Babylon

via Latin and Greek from Hebrew Bābhél; see Babel

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 Babylon (1 of 2)

Babylon

[ (bab-uh-luhn, bab-uh-lon) ]

The capital of the ancient empire of Babylonia, which conquered Israel in the sixth century b.c. The Jews (see also Jews) were exiled to Babylon, which they found luxurious and corrupt. The prophet Daniel became a counselor to the king of Babylon (see the handwriting on the wall), and eventually the Israelites were allowed to return to their homeland. (See also Daniel in the lions' den.)

Notes for Babylon

A “Babylon” is any place of sin and corruption.

Babylon

[ (bab-uh-luhn, bab-uh-lon) ]

A city in ancient Mesopotamia, famed for its hanging gardens (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) and for the sensual lifestyle of its people.

Notes for Babylon

The Jews (see also Jews) were taken captive into Babylon in the sixth century b.c. (See also under “The Bible.”)

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