Calcutta

American  

[kal-kuht-uh] / kælˈkʌt ə /

noun

1. former name of Kolkata (but sometimes still used).

2. Also called Calcutta pool.  (sometimes lowercase) a form of betting pool for a competition or tournament, as golf or auto racing, in which gamblers bid for participating contestants in an auction, the proceeds from which are put into a pool for distribution, according to a prearranged scale of percentages, to those who selected winners.

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Calcutta British  

/ kælˈkʌtə /

noun

1. the former official name (still widely used) of Kolkata

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Calcutta Cultural  

1. Largest city in India, located in the eastern part of the country on the Hooghly River.

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Calcutta is one of the largest cities in the world and suffers from poverty, overcrowding, and unemployment.

Example Sentences

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Calcutta

In Calcutta, political changes led to the British government’s tea-tax strategy for bailing out the East India Co. and its unintended riling up of American tax protesters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

It also brought together a diverse network of artists across its international ports, from London to Calcutta to Canton.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026

Lacklustre and outgunned in Rome in week one, Scotland are now France's biggest challengers after following up the Calcutta Cup demolition of England with a nailbiting, nerve-wrenching win in Wales.

From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2026

A bigger crowd is expected for the third-round visit of a Scotland side fresh from an impressive 31-20 Calcutta Cup win over England at Murrayfield.

From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026

But he was adopted by a missionary who taught him English, and then he worked for various English people in Calcutta before signing up for his indenture and traveling across the ocean.

From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson