Barbary

American

[bahr-buh-ree] / ˈbɑr bə ri /

noun

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

Barbary British

/ ˈbɑːbərɪ /

noun

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

"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.

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

But feeding the Barbary macaques is "not a great idea, because you can hurt them, because you give them anything", added the constructor designer.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

The Barbary lionesses, Thheiba and Fidda, were 22-years-old and were the remaining two females of a pride at Belfast Zoo, with one male lion named Qays left.

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026

The zoo said they have had an association with lions for "many decades, with Barbary lions first arriving at the zoo in the 1960s".

From BBC • Mar. 6, 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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023