Czechoslovakia

American  

[chek-uh-sluh-vah-kee-uh, -vak-ee-uh] / ˌtʃɛk ə sləˈvɑ ki ə, -ˈvæk i ə /

noun

1. a former republic in central Europe: formed after World War I; comprised Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia, and part of Silesia: a federal republic 1968–92. 49,383 sq. mi. (127,903 sq. km). Prague.

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Czechoslovakia British  

/ ˌtʃɛkəʊsləʊˈvækɪə /

noun

1. Czech name: Československo.  a former republic in central Europe: formed after the defeat of Austria-Hungary (1918) as a nation of Czechs in Bohemia and Moravia and Slovaks in Slovakia; occupied by Germany from 1939 until its liberation by the Soviet Union in 1945; became a people's republic under the Communists in 1948; invaded by Warsaw Pact troops in 1968, ending Dubček's attempt to liberalize communism; in 1989 popular unrest led to the resignation of the politburo and the formation of a non-Communist government. It consisted of two federal republics, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which separated in 1993 See also Czech Republic Slovakia

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Czechoslovakia Cultural  

1. Former republic in central Europe, bordered by Poland to the north, Germany to the north and west, Ukraine to the east, and Austria and Hungary to the south. Its capital and largest city was Prague.

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Discover More

The Munich Pact partitioned Czechoslovakia in 1938, giving one of its regions, the Sudetenland, to Germany in an attempt to avoid war.

Communists seized complete control of the government in 1948. During the 1960s, a movement toward liberalization effected many democratizing reforms. An alarmed Soviet Union, along with its Warsaw Pact allies, put an abrupt end to the movement by invading Prague in 1968.

Czechoslovakia was created by the union of the Czech lands and Slovakia, which took place in 1918, as the Austro-Hungarian Empire fell apart.

The country surrendered to German control in 1939 and was liberated by American and Soviet forces at the end of World War II.

The communist government, confronted by mass pro-democracy demonstrations, resigned in 1989. In 1991, the last Soviet troops left the country. The end of communist rule resulted in the split of the republic into two independent states, The Czech Republic and Slovakia, in 1993.

Other Word Forms

• Czecho-Slovakian adjective
• Czechoslovakian adjective
• non-Czechoslovakian adjective

Compare meaning

How does czechoslovakia compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Czech Republic vs. Czechoslovakia

Example Sentences

In 1918 Prague became the capital of a new democratic Czechoslovakia, with symbols of Habsburg rule toppled and replaced by decidedly national ones.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

Hitler claimed that a slice of Czechoslovakia known as the Sudetenland was his last territorial demand in Europe.

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026

Brown and black coal mining employed about 100,000 people in the 1980s, when the former Czechoslovakia was ruled by Moscow-steered communists promoting heavy industry.

From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026

Czechoslovakia beat West Germany in the Euro 1976 final with probably the most famous penalty kick in history.

From BBC • Jan. 18, 2026

Starvation made the people of the world take notice and sparked protests and demonstrations in London and Moscow and Czechoslovakia.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie