Sahara
Americannoun
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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).
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any arid waste.
noun
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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.
Huss said the "very bad state of the glaciers at the moment" was down to a "combination of bad circumstances", including less snowfall, and the arrival of dust from the Sahara Desert in March.
From Barron's • Jun. 27, 2026
In 1966, Duncan was working as a short-order cook at the Sahara, making 400 salads an hour, when she slipped on spilled grease, severely injuring her shoulder, hip and back.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
However, Binter Canarias, the flag carrier of Spain's autonomous Canary Islands bucks the trend, calling the area Western Sahara.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
Sprawling along a windswept peninsula where the Sahara meets the Atlantic, the city of Dakhla certainly looked attractive.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
The storm clouds inside burned away, leaving nothing but red dust and shimmering heat, like mirages on the Sahara.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.