Macedonia

American  

[mas-i-doh-nee-uh, -dohn-yuh] / ˌmæs ɪˈdoʊ ni ə, -ˈdoʊn yə /

noun

1. Also Macedon an ancient kingdom in the Balkan Peninsula, in S Europe: now a region in N Greece, SW Bulgaria, and the Republic of Macedonia.

2. a republic in S Europe: formerly (1945–92) a constituent republic of Yugoslavia. 9,928 sq. mi. (25,713 sq. km). Skopje.

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Macedonia British  

/ ˌmæsɪˈdəʊnɪə /

noun

1. Official name: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.   FYROM.  Serbian name: Makedonija.  a country in SE Europe, comprising the NW half of ancient Macedon: it became part of the kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (subsequently Yugoslavia) in 1913; it declared independence in 1992, but Greece objected to the use of the historical name Macedonia; in 1993 it was recognized by the UN under its current official name. Official language: Macedonian. Religion: Christian majority, Muslim, nonreligious, and Jewish minorities. Currency: denar. Capital: Skopje. Pop: 2 087 171 (2013 est). Area: 25 713 sq km (10 028 sq miles)

2. Modern Greek name: Makedhonia.  an area of N Greece, comprising the regions of Macedonia Central, Macedonia West, and part of Macedonia East and Thrace

3. a district of SW Bulgaria, now occupied by Blagoevgrad province. Area: 6465 sq km (2496 sq miles)

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Macedonia Cultural  

1. Republic in southeastern Europe on the west Balkan Peninsula, bordered by Yugoslavia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south, and Albania to the west. Its capital and largest city is Skopje.

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Discover More

The country has been marked by conflict between minority ethnic Albanians and majority Slavs.

Macedonia is part of a mountainous region of the Balkan Peninsula, also called Macedonia, that was once ruled by the Ottoman Empire and divided in 1912 among Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia (later Yugoslavia).

Greece has objected to the republic's adoption of the name Macedonia, which is also the name of a Greek province and which to the Greeks has been historically associated with Alexander the Great and ancient Greece.

Compare meaning

How does macedonia compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Macedonia vs. Greece

Example Sentences

This failure follows previous World Cup qualification losses to Sweden in 2018 and North Macedonia in 2022, despite other Italian athletes’ recent success.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

“I stand ready to act to contain the lasting components of any new inflationary pressures,” Pill said in a speech delivered in North Macedonia.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

He will miss his country's World Cup play-off semi-final against North Macedonia on 26 March.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

"We are being treated like third-class citizens," said 72-year-old Yiannis Dinas, a sheep breeder from the Greek region of Macedonia.

From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026

‘And that round bandstand-looking thing - that’s the Philipeon, dedicated to Philip of Macedonia.’

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan