Sahara

[suh-har-uh, -hair-uh, -hahr-uh]

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

/ 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)

Sahara

1. Desert in northern Africa.

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Sahara¹

From Arabic ṣaḥra (plural ṣaḥārā ) “desert”

Example Sentences

However, the papier-mâché seashell was carried by the wind quite a long way before landing—improbably, but not impossibly—in the scorching sands of the Sahara.

Read more on Literature

Many people in Western Sahara hope Morocco's long-discussed autonomy plan for the area -- now backed by the UN Security Council -- will accelerate development and end the half-century-long territorial dispute.

Read more on Barron's

Some analysts believe Sansal was a victim of a dispute between Paris and Algiers over the Western Sahara.

Read more on Barron's

Relations had already been on the slide after President Macron announced France was recognising Moroccan sovereignty of Western Sahara and backed a plan for limited autonomy for the disputed territory.

Read more on BBC

The Sahara Desert is known as one of the driest places on Earth, receiving only about 3 inches of precipitation each year -- roughly one-tenth of what falls in Chicago.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• wilderness