Belgium

[ bel-juhm ]

/ ˈbɛl dʒəm /

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noun

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

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

French Bel·gique

[bel-zheek]; /bɛlˈʒik/; Flemish Bel·gi·ë

[bel-khee-uh]. /ˈbɛl xi ə/.

Words nearby Belgium

Belgian Malinois, Belgian sheepdog, Belgian shepherd dog, Belgian Tervuren, Belgic, Belgium, Belgorod, Belgorod-Dnestrovski, Belgorod-Dnestrovsky, Belgrade, Belgrano

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

How to use Belgium in a sentence

She isn’t the target of Rwandan spies hunting her famous family in Belgium.
She escaped the genocide in Rwanda. Now, 27 years later, she can’t escape its politics.|Petula Dvorak|February 25, 2021|Washington Post
Her sister Lina, who is based in Belgium, had days before warned that Loujain’s expected release from prison would not be the end of her treatment.
Saudi Activist Loujain al Hathloul is Out of Jail. But Justice Remains a Distant Hope|Joseph Hincks|February 11, 2021|Time
Germany comes next, and Denmark and Belgium aren’t far behind.
Artificial Island in the North Sea Will Harvest Wind Energy at a Huge Scale|Jason Dorrier|February 7, 2021|Singularity Hub
For Q1 2021, DuckDuckGo will only appear on the screen for users in Belgium.
DuckDuckGo’s focus on privacy-minded users pushes it past 100 million searches in a single day|George Nguyen|January 19, 2021|Search Engine Land

Losada, a former Beerschot midfielder, spent most of his playing career in Belgium.
D.C. United pivots to Europe in coaching search|Steven Goff|January 15, 2021|Washington Post
Other cases were reported in the 1990s in Italy and Belgium.
Are Water Births Toxic to Babies?|Brandy Zadrozny|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Duncan arrived at Dulles International Airport in Washington from Liberia (via Belgium) on Sept. 20.
Fact-Checking the Sunday Shows: October 26|PunditFact.com|October 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After following the epidemic closely from his native Belgium, Colebunders is extremely hopeful that the answer will be the blood.
Blood Is Ebola’s Weapon and Weakness|Abby Haglage|October 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Prior to her arrest, Johnson was living under partial immunity in Gent, Belgium, while a case was being built against her.
Caught: Female Assassin Who Allegedly Murdered Five American Nuns|Barbie Latza Nadeau|September 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Wendig in Munich in 1943, who asked him to travel to Belgium to purchase gold, jewelry, and pictures.
On the Trail of Nazi Counterfeiters|Dr. Kevin C. Ruffner|September 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I presume there will be more middling and half middling yields within twenty miles of Paris than in all Belgium.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
It is not quite so level nor so perfectly cultivated as central Belgium, but is generally fertile and promises fairly.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
We re-visited Paris, but spent most of our three weeks in a tour through Belgium, finishing up at Brussels.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland|Joseph Tatlow
Courage, my child,” he says; “see, we have gone a great distance; to-morrow before sundown we shall descend in Belgium.
The Real Latin Quarter|F. Berkeley Smith
In the cave of Naulette, near Dinant, Belgium, has been found the lower jaw of a man of decidedly ape-like aspect.
Man And His Ancestor|Charles Morris

British Dictionary definitions for Belgium

Belgium

/ (ˈbɛldʒəm) /

noun

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.