Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

North Africa

American  
[nawrth af-ri-kuh] / ˈnɔrθ ˈæf rɪ kə /

noun

  1. the northern part of Africa, especially the region north of the tropical rainforest and comprised of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and that part of Egypt west of the Gulf of Suez.


North Africa British  

noun

  1. the part of Africa between the Mediterranean and the Sahara: consists chiefly of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and N Egypt

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of North Africa

First recorded in 1840–45

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:

Before this discovery, Early Miocene fossil sites in North Africa had produced remains of monkeys but no confirmed apes.

From Science Daily Jul. 24, 2026

Sure, the U.S. is significantly less dependent on imported crude compared with other countries, said Hani Abuagla, senior market analyst at XTB MENA, the Middle East and North Africa unit of European brokerage house XTB.

From MarketWatch Jul. 13, 2026

“The attacks are meant to disrupt and deter ships from traversing the strait,” Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at London’s Chatham House think tank.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 7, 2026

The Central Mediterranean crossing from North Africa is the deadliest migration route in the world, according to the International Organization for Migration.

From Barron's Jul. 4, 2026

About 2 million years ago, some of these archaic men and women left their homeland to journey through and settle vast areas of North Africa, Europe and Asia.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training