Balkan

[ bawl-kuh n ]

/ ˈbɔl kən /

adjective

pertaining to the Balkan States or their inhabitants.

pertaining to the Balkan Peninsula.

pertaining to the Balkan Mountains.

noun

the Balkans. Balkan States.

Origin of Balkan

First recorded in 1825–35

Related forms

Bal·kan·ite, noun, adjectivetrans-Bal·kan, adjective

Definition for balkans (2 of 2)

Balkan States

plural noun

the countries in the Balkan Peninsula: Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, and the European part of Turkey.

Also called the Balkans.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for balkans

As in the Balkans 20 years ago, the effort to preserve “recognized international borders” is already a dead letter.
Arab Kings vs. ISIS Barbarians|Christopher Dickey|September 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Germans, in turn, sold the Allied equipment to pro-Nazi groups in the Balkans.
On the Trail of Nazi Counterfeiters|Dr. Kevin C. Ruffner|September 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When the U.S. did intervene militarily, such as in the Balkans, air power was the only real approach considered palatable.
Black Hawk Down’s Long Shadow|Daniel Klaidman|October 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Ignore the clumsy comparisons of the Syria War and the Balkans War.
No One Understands Syria, But Everyone Is Choosing Sides|Michael Moynihan|September 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Krauthammer called Clinton naive for expending blood and treasure to protect human rights and self-determination in the Balkans.
‘Neoconservative’ Needs to Be Retired. Why Not Try ‘Imperialist’?|Peter Beinart|June 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
A couple of years later, came the big row in the Balkans, and the war had hardly started before dad was arrested as a spy.'
On Land And Sea At The Dardanelles|Thomas Charles Bridges
How came it to pass that the Russians were allowed to cross the Balkans?
Looking Seaward Again|Walter Runciman
We wish to do everything to create in the Balkans a situation of lasting calm.
Current History: A Monthly Magazine of the New York Times, May 1918|Various
Instantly she became acquainted with another athletic and penniless American who was raising the devil in the Balkans.
Quick Action|Robert W. Chambers
Austria covets and by instalments obtains territory in the Balkans.
A Short History of English Liberalism|Walter Lyon Blease

British Dictionary definitions for balkans (1 of 2)

Balkan

/ (ˈbɔːlkən) /

adjective

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

British Dictionary definitions for balkans (2 of 2)

Balkan States

pl n

the countries of the Balkan Peninsula: the former Yugoslavian Republics, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, and the European part of TurkeyAlso called: the Balkans

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

Culture definitions for balkans

Balkans

Major mountain range of the Balkan Peninsula, extending from the eastern portion of the former Yugoslavia through central Bulgaria to the Black Sea.