Barbary

American  

[bahr-buh-ree] / ˈbɑr bə ri /

noun

1. a region in N Africa, extending from W of Egypt to the Atlantic Ocean and including the former Barbary States.

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Barbary British  

/ ˈbɑːbərɪ /

noun

1. a historic name for a region of N Africa extending from W Egypt to the Atlantic and including the former Barbary States of Tripolitania, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Barbary

But it was extremely hypocritical of the U.S. to condemn the Barbary states for enslaving a few hundred Americans given, you know, the extensive enslavement of hundreds of thousands of Africans on American soil.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

But one conflict in particular stands out among all the rest because of it was one of the very first a young United States engaged in: the first of the Barbary Wars.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

Seven years later, President Thomas Jefferson sent the fleet—three frigates and a schooner—to subdue pirates disrupting shipping along North Africa’s Barbary Coast.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

The Barbary wars went on for more than a decade.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

“The Cape’s not so bad. You’re safer there than lots of places. For instance—take the Mediterranean. There—you’d be running from a French privateer, and probably be hulled by a Barbary pirate.”

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham