Greece

American  

[grees] / gris /

noun

1. Ancient Greek Hellas.  Modern Greek Ellas.  a republic in southern Europe at the south end of the Balkan Peninsula. 50,147 sq. mi. (129,880 sq. km). Athens.

2. a city in western New York State, a suburb of Rochester on the south shore of Lake Ontario.

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Greece British  

/ ɡriːs /

noun

1. Modern Greek name: Ellás.  a republic in SE Europe, occupying the S part of the Balkan Peninsula and many islands in the Ionian and Aegean Seas; site of two of Europe's earliest civilizations (the Minoan and Mycenaean); in the classical era divided into many small independent city-states, the most important being Athens and Sparta; part of the Roman and Byzantine Empires; passed under Turkish rule in the late Middle Ages; became an independent kingdom in 1827; taken over by a military junta (1967–74); the monarchy was abolished in 1973; became a republic in 1975; a member of the European Union. Official language: Greek. Official religion: Eastern (Greek) Orthodox. Currency: euro. Capital: Athens. Pop: 10 772 967 (2013 est). Area: 131 944 sq km (50 944 sq miles)

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Greece Cultural  

1. Republic in southeastern Europe on the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Athens (see also Athens).

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Discover More

Greece is a member of NATO.

It is known for its production of grapes, olives, and olive oil.

Ancient Greek culture, particularly as developed in Athens, was the principal source of Western civilization.

Tension and fighting between Greece and Turkey has continued for hundreds of years.

Compare meaning

How does greece compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Macedonia vs. Greece

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Greece

Europe has been swept by weeks of devastating wildfires fuelled by dry conditions and a historically hot summer, with France, Greece, Portugal and Spain also battling major blazes.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

Elsewhere, the paper pictures the British couple who were killed in a helicopter crash in Greece on Monday while on their honeymoon.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

It was first popularized in the 1970s by an American researcher who noticed how people ate and lived in parts of Italy and Greece.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026

The setting is the Prespa lakes region, a mountain valley where three countries—Albania, Greece and North Macedonia—share borders, a park and abundant natural resources.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Because they are so closely related, they sound particularly good together, a fact that has been noticed since at least the times of classical Greece, and probably even longer.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones