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Atacama Desert

American  
[at-uh-kam-uh, ah-tuh-kah-muh dez-ert, ah-tah-kah-mah] / ˌæt əˈkæm ə, ˌɑ təˈkɑ mə ˈdɛz ərt, ˌɑ tɑˈkɑ mɑ /

noun

  1. an arid region in N Chile: rich nitrate deposits. About 600 miles (960 km) long; about 70,000 sq. mi. (181,300 sq. km).

Atacama Desert British  
/ ataˈkama /

noun

  1. a desert region along the W coast of South America, mainly in N Chile: a major source of nitrates. Area: about 80 000 sq km (31 000 sq miles)

"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.

An international team led by the University of Cologne studied tiny soil worms known as nematodes in Chile's Atacama Desert.

From Science Daily • Mar. 2, 2026

He hiked copper royalties and set a high bar for mine expansion in the ore-rich but water-starved Atacama Desert.

From Barron's • Dec. 17, 2025

Alto Hospicio is on the edge of the Atacama Desert - one of the driest places on Earth.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2025

The scene takes place in the Atacama Desert in Chile, one of the planet’s oldest and driest deserts.

From New York Times • Jun. 3, 2024

In the parched Atacama Desert, the Chinchorro created history’s first mummies.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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.