Negev

American

[neg-ev] / ˈnɛg ɛv /

Also Negeb

noun

a partially reclaimed desert region and district in S Israel, bordering on the Sinai Peninsula. 4,700 sq. mi. (12,173 sq. km). Beersheba.

Negev British

/ ˈnɛɡɛb, ˈnɛɡɛv /

noun

the S part of Israel, on the Gulf of Aqaba: a triangular-shaped semidesert region, with large areas under irrigation; scene of fighting between Israeli and Egyptian forces in 1948. Chief town: Beersheba. Area: 12 820 sq km (4950 sq miles)

"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

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.

Adalah said they had been held at Israel's Ktziot prison, in the Negev Desert near Gaza.

From Barron's • May 21, 2026

Prof. Debra Toiber and her research team at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have now uncovered a clear biological explanation.

From Science Daily • Jan. 15, 2026

In a post on X, Sharren Haskel said the site that was the main medical centre for Israel's entire Negev region.

From BBC • Jun. 19, 2025

The Bedouin people of the Negev do not share that view.

From Salon • Nov. 20, 2024

Adrienne was always friendly with the Palestinian workers, Carmel said, and with the Bedouin and Palestinian families whose babies she delivered while working at a hospital in the Negev desert.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2024

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023