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Balkan

American  
[bawl-kuhn] / ˈbɔl kən /

adjective

  1. pertaining to the Balkan States or their inhabitants.

  2. pertaining to the Balkan Peninsula.

  3. pertaining to the Balkan Mountains.


noun

  1. the Balkans. Balkan States.

Balkan British  
/ ˈbɔːlkən /

adjective

  1. of, denoting, or relating to the Balkan States or their inhabitants, the Balkan Peninsula, or the Balkan Mountains

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of Balkan

First recorded in 1825–35

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.

See Examples For:

It’s heir to the Nuremberg tribunals and special courts established to prosecute crimes from the Balkan wars, the Rwandan genocide and other conflicts of the 20th century.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

Balkan countries are seeing extreme heat too, with up to 39C forecast in Serbia over the weekend.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

But their footballing reputation is now so established the Balkan nation are benefiting from a diaspora wanting to pull on the red and white checked shirt.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

Sanchez denied having any links to the alleged scheme as he attended an EU summit with Balkan leaders in Montenegro on Friday.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

Imagine a Sapiens band reaching a Balkan valley where Neanderthals had lived for hundreds of thousands of years.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

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