Ali Baba

American  

[ah-lee bah-bah, al-ee bab-uh] / ˈɑ li ˈbɑ bɑ, ˈæl i ˈbæb ə /

noun

1. the poor woodcutter, hero of a tale in The Arabian Nights' Entertainments, who uses the magic words “Open sesame” to open the door to the cave in which the Forty Thieves had hidden their treasure.

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Ali Baba British  

/ ˈælɪ ˈbɑːbə /

noun

1. (in The Arabian Nights' Entertainments ) a poor woodcutter who discovers that the magic words "open sesame" will open the doors of the cave containing the treasure of the Forty Thieves

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Ali Baba Cultural  

1. The title character in “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,” a story from the Arabian Nights. Ali Baba gains the treasure of the thieves, which they keep in a cave with a magical entrance.

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Ali Baba opens the door of the thieves' cave with the magical password “Open, sesame.”

Example Sentences

The actress portrayed diverse roles - in her latest show inspired by the folk tale Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, she was playing a royal princess.

From BBC • Jan. 5, 2023

“It’s my first trip back in three months,” said Maurice Sweiss, who lives in Los Angeles and owns the Ali Baba restaurant and bar in Las Vegas.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2020

While the story of a pauper-turned-prince has long appeared in Western editions of Nights, it—like those of Ali Baba and Sindbad—isn’t an original.

From Slate • Apr. 10, 2019

“This was the opening of the Ali Baba cavern,” Righetti told me.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 19, 2018

Baton-twirling trophies were everywhere, hundreds and hundreds of them gleaming in the green dimness so that the garage looked like the cave of Ali Baba.

From "Raymie Nightingale" by Kate DiCamillo