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  • Marco Polo
    Marco Polo
    noun
  • Polo, Marco
    Polo, Marco
    An Italian explorer of the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries; one of the first Europeans to travel across Asia. He visited the court of Kublai Khan (seeKubla Khanunder “Literature in English”), the Mongol ruler of China, and became a government official in China. His account of his travels was distributed after his return to Italy.

Marco Polo

American  
[mahr-koh poh-loh] / ˈmɑr koʊ ˈpoʊ loʊ /

noun

  1. Polo, Marco.


Marco Polo British  
/ ˈmɑːkəʊ ˈpəʊləʊ /

noun

  1. See Polo

"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

Polo, Marco Cultural  
  1. An Italian explorer of the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries; one of the first Europeans to travel across Asia. He visited the court of Kublai Khan (seeKubla Khanunder “Literature in English”), the Mongol ruler of China, and became a government official in China. His account of his travels was distributed after his return to Italy.


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

In Hangzhou, once the capital of Song China, Marco Polo observed markets linked by canals and warehouses that “supply them with every article that could be desired.”

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 29, 2025

I played Marco Polo in the pool with the Persian kids.

From Los Angeles Times May 15, 2024

This ultimately resulted in one Marco Polo argali male, a species that can reach 300 pounds, and which does not belong in Montana.

From Slate Mar. 16, 2024

In January 2013, a Montana livestock worker returned to the United States from Kyrgyzstan hiding tissue from a Marco Polo argali sheep, one of the largest in the world, federal prosecutors said.

From New York Times Mar. 14, 2024

For a long time, this was the only image Mia had of Mr. Wilkinson, a mysterious cross between Marco Polo and Santa Claus who filled his home with treasures.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

Political science, founder of, 144 Political worship, 412 Polo, Marco, 299-300 Polynesian races, 71 Pompey the Great, 192, 193, 196, 198, 430 Pontifex maximus, 237, 261 Popes.

From A Short History of the World by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

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