Biblical name: Tadmor. an ancient city in central Syria: said to have been built by Solomon
an island in the central Pacific, in the Line Islands: under US administration
C17: from Portuguese palmeira palm tree (see palm ²); perhaps influenced by Palmyra , city in Syria
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The US has been carrying out large-scale strikes on IS targets in Syria, dubbed Operation Hawkeye Strike, since the deaths of the three American on 13 December 2025 in Palmyra, central Syria.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2026
Washington blamed the attack on a lone IS gunman in Syria's Palmyra.
From Barron's ● Dec. 31, 2025
The Dec. 13 attack took place at a fortified facility of the Internal Security Command, Syria’s main domestic security force, near Palmyra.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
Leo Brent Bozell IV, 44, of Palmyra, Pennsylvania, was one of the first rioters to enter the Capitol and among the first to reach the Senate floor during the Jan. 6, 2021, siege.
From Seattle Times ● May 17, 2024
My father wanted to visit the Sacred Grove in Palmyra, New York—the forest where, according to Joseph Smith, God had appeared and commanded him to found the true church.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
While removable wallpaper may not be in the cards for me, others shouldn't be denied the pure joy of a palmyra leaf-covered wall.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2022
"As we approached Jaffna, we sensed the smell of its palmyra" palm trees common in the north.
From US News ● Oct. 11, 2014
Thousands of Sri Lankans have tried to flee their country in recent years In a desolate grove of palmyra trees, I meet Dilip, 21, a Tamil man.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2013
Huh? — tacony palmyra July 28, 2010 5:52 pm I hope NYC’s system is more realistic than the letter grading system here in Los Angeles.
From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2010
On went his steed, and still he held on to the palmyra tree.
From Tales of the Sun or Folklore of Southern India by Kingscote, Mrs. Howard
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
