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Sahara

American  
[suh-har-uh, -hair-uh, -hahr-uh] / səˈhær ə, -ˈhɛər ə, -ˈhɑr ə /

noun

  1. a desert in northern Africa, extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Nile valley. About 3,500,000 square miles (9,065,000 square kilometers).

  2. any arid waste.

Sahara British  
/ səˈhɑːrə /

noun

  1. a desert in N Africa, extending from the Atlantic to the Red Sea and from the Mediterranean to central Mali, Niger, Chad, and the Sudan: the largest desert in the world, occupying over a quarter of Africa; rises to over 3300 m (11 000 ft) in the central mountain system of the Ahaggar and Tibesti massifs; large reserves of iron ore, oil, and natural gas. Area: 9 100 000 sq km (3 500 000 sq miles). Average annual rainfall: less than 254 mm (10 in.). Highest recorded temperature: 58°C (136.4°F)

"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
Sahara Cultural  

  1. Desert in northern Africa.

Discover More

At approximately 3.5 million square miles, it is the world's largest desert.

Other Word Forms

  • Saharan adjective
  • Saharian adjective
  • trans-Sahara adjective
  • trans-Saharan adjective

Etymology

Origin of Sahara

From Arabic ṣaḥra (plural ṣaḥārā ) “desert”

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.

The Earth appears to us as upside down, with the western Sahara and Iberian peninsula visible to the left and the eastern portion of South America to the right.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

Once set times are released and you’re plotting your own schedule, don’t plan on easily hopping back and forth between the Sahara Tent and most of the other stages.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

The search began in 2019 in the Sahara Desert, where French geologist Hugues Faure had said he found a tooth belonging to the giant predator Carcharodontosaurus in the 1950s.

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

The findings reinforce the idea that Northwest Africa was a major center of early human evolution during periods when shifting climates opened migration routes across what is now the Sahara.

From Science Daily • Feb. 7, 2026

My sister even suggested that I shouldn't invite Sahara over.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

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.