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Beirut

[bey-root, bey-root]
noun
  1. a seaport in and the capital of Lebanon.
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Also Beyrouth.

Lebanon

[leb-uh-nuh n or especially for 1, -non]
noun
  1. a republic at the E end of the Mediterranean, N of Israel. 3927 sq. mi. (10,170 sq. km). Capital: Beirut.
  2. a city in SE Pennsylvania.
  3. a city in N central Tennessee.
  4. a town in central Indiana.
  5. a town in W New Hampshire.
  6. a town in W Oregon.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for beirut

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • And eventually, as the visits accumulate, she goes with him to the dress-maker in Beirut.

    The Book of Khalid

    Ameen Rihani

  • Even this toy of a train brings us, in thirty minutes, to Beirut.

    The Book of Khalid

    Ameen Rihani

  • Come down to Beirut and do some shouting with your fellow citizens.

    The Book of Khalid

    Ameen Rihani

  • For the boatmen of Beirut have not lost their prestige and power.

    The Book of Khalid

    Ameen Rihani

  • For 281 I like not Beirut, where one in winter must go about in top-boots, and in a dust-coat in summer.

    The Book of Khalid

    Ameen Rihani

British Dictionary definitions for beirut

Beirut

Beyrouth

noun
  1. the capital of Lebanon, a port on the Mediterranean: part of the Ottoman Empire from the 16th century until 1918; many universities (including Lebanese, American, French, and Arab). Pop: 1 875 000 (2005 est)
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Lebanon

noun
  1. the Lebanon a republic in W Asia, on the Mediterranean: an important centre of the Phoenician civilization in the third millennium bc; part of the Ottoman Empire from 1516 until 1919; gained independence in 1941 (effective by 1945). Official language: Arabic; French and English are also widely spoken. Religion: Muslim and Christian. Currency: Lebanese pound. Capital: Beirut. Pop: 4 131 583 (2013est). Area: 10 400 sq km (4015 sq miles)
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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

Word Origin and History for beirut

Beirut

Lebanese capital, from Hebrew, literally "the wells," from be'erot, plural of be'er "well."

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Lebanon

nation in w. Asia, from Semitic root l-b-n "white," probably in reference to snow-capped peaks, or possibly to chalk or limestone cliffs. The Greek name of the island Lemnos is of Phoenician origin and from the same root.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
beirut in Culture

Beirut

[(bay-rooht)]

Capital of Lebanon, located in western Lebanon on the Mediterranean Sea.

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Note

Often called “the Paris of the Middle East,” the city was badly damaged during Lebanon's civil war in the 1970s and 1980s. It is now being rebuilt.

Lebanon

Republic in the Middle East, located on the Mediterranean Sea, bordered to the north and east by Syria and to the south by Israel. Its capital and largest city is Beirut.

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Note

Lebanon was established in 1920 from remnants of the Ottoman Empire. Its mixed Christian and Muslim population generally lived peacefully under a weak central government until the 1970s. Israel invaded in 1978 to challenge the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) influence in Lebanon and to stop PLO raids on Israel. During the 1980s Lebanon became the scene of intense fighting between PLO, Syrian, and Israeli forces, as well as indigenous Christian and Muslim factions. Terrorist bombings and the taking of foreign nationals (including American citizens) as hostages became common events. By 1992, Syria had emerged as the dominant influence in Lebanon. Democratic elections were held in the mid-1990s.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.