Kolkata

American

[kol-kah-tuh] / kɒlˈkɑ tə /

noun

a seaport in and the capital of West Bengal state, in eastern India, on the Hugli River: former capital of British India.

Kolkata British

/ ˈkolkɑːtə /

noun

Former official name: Calcutta. a port in E India, capital of West Bengal state, on the Hooghly River: former capital of the country (1833–1912); major commercial and industrial centre; many universities. Pop: 4 580 544 (2001)

"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

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.

"The entire country has its eyes on this state's election results," political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty told AFP, in the main city Kolkata.

From Barron's • May 4, 2026

But on 26 October last year, she set off from the Attari-Wagah border between Pakistan and India, bound for Kolkata, just a few miles from where her father Deric was born.

From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026

By the end of World War Two, Sen had returned to Kolkata as head of programming at All India Radio.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

In the state capital, Kolkata city, nearly 29.6% of voters were struck off the rolls in the north and 27.5% in the south - among the highest rates in the state.

From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026

He had no desire to study in the big city of Kolkata.

From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023