Barbary Coast
Americannoun
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the Mediterranean coastline of the former Barbary States: former pirate refuge.
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the waterfront district of San Francisco in the 19th century, notorious for its cheap bars and nightclubs, prostitutes, gambling houses, and high incidence of crime.
noun
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.
Barbary macaques are native to the Barbary Coast, the historic name given to coastal regions of North Africa.
From National Geographic • Nov. 9, 2023
A Barbary Coast madam’s illegitimate son, a district attorney, tries her for murder.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 6, 2019
The Barbary Coast, described as the oldest bar in this North Carolina city, has a time-honored custom of staying open in tropical storms.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 13, 2018
Jefferson, a founding father, dispatched ships as a protection force because Muslim pirates on the Barbary Coast of North Africa were seizing American merchant ships.
From New York Times • Sep. 14, 2014
Patterns of new dance forms were derived by Pavlowa from the wild rhythms she found on the old Barbary Coast.
From Fascinating San Francisco by Wood, Andrew Y.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
