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.

They added it could "change conservation forever", as until now they had not held a complete genetic reference for Barbary macaques.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

The groundbreaking genome sequencing is from a Barbary macaque called Crinkle at Trentham Monkey Forest, Stoke-on-Trent.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 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

After high school, he attended college for a time and started working in the coffee shop at the Barbary Coast hotel and casino.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 19, 2025

“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