Near East

[ neer-eest ]

/ ˈnɪər ˈist /

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noun

an indefinite geographical or regional term, usually referring to the countries of southwestern Asia, including Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia and the other nations of Arabia.Compare Middle East (def. 1).

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Origin of Near East

First recorded in 1855–60

OTHER WORDS FROM Near East

Near Eastern, adjective, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH Near East

Far East, Middle East, Near East

Words nearby Near East

near beer, nearby, Nearctic, near-death experience, near-earth object, Near East, Nearer Tibet, nearest and dearest, Near Field Communication, near gale, near-infrared radiation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Near East in a sentence

The god with horns—half human, half beast—is commonplace throughout the ancient Near East.
Meet Krampus, the Seriously Bad Santa|Jay Michaelson|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Agate was widely used to carve high-value objects like signets and cylinder seals in the ancient Near East.
Spain’s New ‘Holy Grail’: Jesus Couldn’t Afford That Kind of Bling|Candida Moss|April 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“They overplayed their hand,” said Middle East scholar David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
How the Chuck Hagel Fight Changed the American Jewish Landscape in Washington|J. J. Goldberg|August 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
“The Muslim Brotherhood is steeling for a fight,” says Trager, of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Egypt Braces For a Fight|Mike Giglio|June 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST

“I am the Counselor at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy,” Ross said in an email on Friday.
Exclusive: Key Pro-Israel Obama Ally Splits|Eli Lake|July 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The former were bound on a short journey to the near east and were to support us until we parted company.
The Home of the Blizzard|Douglas Mawson
In the Near East, coffee manners and customs are much the same today as they were fifty or even one hundred years ago.
All About Coffee|William H. Ukers
Coffee is the most popular and most extensively used non-alcoholic beverage in Greece, as it is throughout the Near East.
All About Coffee|William H. Ukers
The concept of the dying god, so widespread in the ancient Near East, is found nowhere else in Indian mythology.'
The Loves of Krishna in Indian Painting and Poetry|W. G. Archer
In 1846 Barrot made a tour in the Near East, returning in time to take part a second time in the preliminaries of revolution.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 3|Various

British Dictionary definitions for Near East

Near East

noun

another term for the Middle East

(formerly) the Balkan States and the area of the Ottoman Empire

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

Cultural definitions for Near East

Near East

A region in western Asia and northeastern Africa, often considered the same as the Middle East.