Poland

American  

[poh-luhnd] / ˈpoʊ lənd /

noun

1. a republic in eastern central Europe, on the Baltic Sea. About 121,000 sq. mi. (313,400 sq. km). Warsaw.

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Poland British  

/ ˈpəʊlənd /

noun

1. Polish name: Polska.  a republic in central Europe, on the Baltic: first united in the 10th century; dissolved after the third partition effected by Austria, Russia, and Prussia in 1795; re-established independence in 1918; invaded by Germany in 1939; ruled by a Communist government from 1947 to 1989, when a multiparty system was introduced; joined the EU in 2004. It consists chiefly of a low undulating plain in the north, rising to a low plateau in the south, with the Sudeten and Carpathian Mountains along the S border. Official language: Polish. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: złoty. Capital: Warsaw. Pop: 38 383 809 (2013 est). Area: 311 730 sq km (120 359 sq miles)

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Poland Cultural  

1. Republic in central Europe, bordered by the Baltic Sea and Russia to the north, Lithuania to the northeast, Belarus and Ukraine to the east, The Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, and Germany to the west. Its capital and largest city is Warsaw.

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Discover More

In 1952, Poland became a people's republic on the Soviet model.

During World War II, about six million Poles, including three million Jews (see also Jews), died from German massacres, starvation, and execution in concentration camps such as Auschwitz.

Poland joined NATO in 1999.

Poland was a great power from the fourteenth through the seventeenth centuries, but in the eighteenth century it was partitioned three times among Austria, Prussia, and Russia. It was again recognized as an independent state in 1919.

In 1989, Solidarity-backed candidates swept to victory in free elections, but Solidarity subsequently declined sharply as a political force.

The Solidarity movement, which demanded greater worker control in Poland, emerged in the early 1980s as one of the first signs of popular discontent with single-party rule and the communist economic system.

The invasion of Poland by Germany in 1939 precipitated World War II.

Example Sentences

He has already mapped out his first diplomatic visits, to Poland, Austria and Germany, countries that he emphasised Hungary's close affinity to.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026

The proposal would station troops in supportive nations like Poland and Romania, potentially closing a U.S. base in Spain or Germany.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

Poland and Russia have also been cited as potential sellers.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

Countries that could benefit because they are viewed as supportive include Poland, Romania, Lithuania and Greece, the officials said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

When the German army invaded and conquered Poland in September 1939, more than three million additional Jews came under Nazi control.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti