Belgium

[ bel-juhm ]

noun
  1. a kingdom in W Europe, bordering the North Sea, N of France. 11,779 sq. mi. (30,508 sq. km). Capital: Brussels.

  • French Bel·gique [bel-zheek]; /bɛlˈʒik/;
  • Flemish Bel·gi·ë [bel-khee-uh]. /ˈbɛl xi ə/.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Belgium in a sentence

  • C''est la Belgique,' said Danton, 'qui comblera le dficit de la Rvolution.'

    Belgium | George W. T. (George William Thomson) Omond
  • Ye'll be wantin' yer mosquito nets, so better bring the stuff down to the Belgique.

    The Blind Lion of the Congo | Elliott Whitney
  • By special arrangement with the customs people the boxes belonging to Mr. Wallace were slung right out to the deck of La Belgique.

    The Blind Lion of the Congo | Elliott Whitney
  • By the next afternoon their loading was completed and the Belgique headed upstream without further delay.

    The Blind Lion of the Congo | Elliott Whitney
  • They found the Belgique to be a small but comfortable little steamer manned by a crew of a dozen blacks and a Swiss pilot.

    The Blind Lion of the Congo | Elliott Whitney

British Dictionary definitions for Belgium

Belgium

/ (ˈbɛldʒəm) /


noun
  1. a federal kingdom in NW Europe: at various times under the rulers of Burgundy, Spain, Austria, France, and the Netherlands before becoming an independent kingdom in 1830. It formed the Benelux customs union with the Netherlands and Luxembourg in 1948 and and was a founder member of the Common Market, now the European Union. It consists chiefly of a low-lying region of sand, woods, and heath (the Campine) in the north and west, and a fertile undulating central plain rising to the Ardennes Mountains in the southeast. Languages: French, Flemish (Dutch), German. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: euro. Capital: Brussels. Pop: 10 444 268 (2013 est). Area: 30 513 sq km (11 778 sq miles)

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

Cultural definitions for Belgium

Belgium

Monarchy in northwestern Europe, bordered by the North Sea and The Netherlands to the north, Germany and Luxembourg to the east, and France to the south. Its capital and largest city is Brussels.

Notes for Belgium

Headquarters for the EU and for NATO.

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.