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

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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

No, these were good old-fashioned pirates, sponsored by the Barbary states: the kingdom of Morocco was independent, while Algiers, Tripoli and Tunis owed a loose allegiance to the Ottoman Empire.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

The Barbary wars went on for more than a decade.

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 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

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