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.
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
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 gambler loves his new saloon singer, then loses her in the 1906 earthquake panic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2020
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
My hall was modeled after those on the Barbary Coast.
From Arizona's Yesterday Being the Narrative of John H. Cady, Pioneer by Cady, John H. (John Henry)
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.
