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.

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

Segev Kalfon, who lives at Dimona in southern Israel, worked with his parents at their bakery at Arad in the Negev desert.

From Barron's • Oct. 13, 2025

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

Now, Israeli authorities see the Negev as an enormous opportunity for large-scale afforestation.

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