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Bosporus

American  
[bos-per-uhs] / ˈbɒs pər əs /
Also Bosphorus

noun

  1. a strait connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. 18 miles (29 km) long.


Bosporus British  
/ ˈbɒspərəs, ˈbɒsfərəs /

noun

  1. a strait between European and Asian Turkey, linking the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara

"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

Bosporus Cultural  
  1. Strait separating the European and Asian portions of Turkey. The Bosporus is a link between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.


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It is an important shipping route for Russia, whose northern routes are mostly blocked by ice in winter, and for other nations that border the Black Sea or use any of the many major rivers that flow into it.

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Example Sentences

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Physical chokepoints include waterways such as the Strait of Hormuz or the Bosporus and Dardanelles, which connect the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, and thus Russian and Ukrainian grain exports.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 12, 2026

Together with the Bosporus Strait, it serves as a vital route for commercial shipping between Europe and Asia.

From BBC Aug. 8, 2025

Home to some 16 million people and straddling the Bosporus between Europe and Asia, Istanbul generates much of Turkey’s economic output.

From New York Times Mar. 31, 2024

On Saturday, authorities at the Bulgarian port of Varna did not confirm whether the Anna-Theresa will enter the port or will continue to the Bosporus Strait.

From Washington Times Sep. 2, 2023

They were mad at first; but when they found he had dropped it over on Bosporus Point they concluded to take his judgment and settle there instead.

From The Ship Dwellers A Story of a Happy Cruise by Paine, Albert Bigelow

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