Argentina

American  

[ahr-juhn-tee-nuh, ahr-hen-tee-nah] / ˌɑr dʒənˈti nə, ˌɑr hɛnˈti nɑ /

noun

1. a republic in southern South America. 1,084,120 sq. mi. (2,807,870 sq. km). Buenos Aires.

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Argentina British  

/ ˌɑːdʒənˈtiːnə /

noun

1. Also called: the Argentine.  a republic in southern South America: colonized by the Spanish from 1516 onwards; gained independence in 1816 and became a republic in 1852; ruled by military dictatorships for much of the 20th century; civilian rule restored in 1983; consists chiefly of subtropical plains and forests (the Chaco) in the north, temperate plains (the pampas) in the central parts, the Andes in the west, and an infertile plain extending to Tierra del Fuego in the south (Patagonia); an important meat producer. Language: Spanish. Religion: Roman Catholic. Currency: peso. Capital: Buenos Aires. Pop: 42 610 981 (2013 est). Area: 2 776 653 sq km (1 072 067 sq miles)

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Argentina Cultural  

1. Republic in southern South America, bordered by Chile to the west; Bolivia and Paraguay to the north; and Brazil, Uruguay, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Its capital and largest city is Buenos Aires.

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Juan Perón came to power in Argentina in 1946, establishing a dictatorship, and ruled with the aid of his second wife, the popular Eva Perón, until he was overthrown in 1955. He was president again from 1973 to 1974, when he died.

Second-largest nation of South America, after Brazil.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• anti-Argentina
  adjective
• pro-Argentina
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Argentina

From Spanish, from Italian: literally “made of silver, silver colored” (equivalent to argento “silver” + -ino adjective suffix), shortening of Terra Argentina “Land of Silver,” or Costa Argentina “Coast of Silver”; ultimately a derivative of Latin argentum “silver”; see also -ine ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

But its World Cup preparations were disrupted by war in the Middle East, which forced the cancellation of scheduled friendlies with Serbia and Argentina.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026

Martin Keown: Looking at the draw, there will be some absolute blockbuster quarter-finals if the favourites win their groups, like England versus Brazil and Argentina against Portugal - or Messi against Cristiano Ronaldo.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

The 38-year-old Messi had not featured for Argentina in the build-up to their title defence after injuring a hamstring playing for Inter Miami in late May.

From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026

Argentina, England, the Netherlands and Algeria chose Kansas City as their base camps because of the large number of elite-level training grounds, temperate climate and central location.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

In the pampas of Argentina and Uruguay, the voyaging Charles Darwin discovered hundreds of square miles strangled by feral artichoke.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann