Barbary

American  

[bahr-buh-ree] / ˈbɑr bə ri /

noun

1. a region in N Africa, extending from W of Egypt to the Atlantic Ocean and including the former Barbary States.

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Barbary British  

/ ˈbɑːbərɪ /

noun

1. a historic name for a region of N Africa extending from W Egypt to the Atlantic and including the former Barbary States of Tripolitania, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Barbary

Navy engaged with the British yet again, it also once more exposed American ships traveling Mediterranean to plunder from Barbary pirates, later resulting in the Second Barbary War.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

But it was extremely hypocritical of the U.S. to condemn the Barbary states for enslaving a few hundred Americans given, you know, the extensive enslavement of hundreds of thousands of Africans on American soil.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

The Barbary wars went on for more than a decade.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

Seven years later, President Thomas Jefferson sent the fleet—three frigates and a schooner—to subdue pirates disrupting shipping along North Africa’s Barbary Coast.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

“The Cape’s not so bad. You’re safer there than lots of places. For instance—take the Mediterranean. There—you’d be running from a French privateer, and probably be hulled by a Barbary pirate.”

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham