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Sumer

American  
[soo-mer] / ˈsu mər /

noun

  1. an ancient region in southern Mesopotamia that contained a number of independent cities and city-states of which the first were established possibly as early as 5000 b.c.: conquered by the Elamites and, about 2000 b.c., by the Babylonians; a number of its cities, as Ur, Uruk, Kish, and Lagash, are major archaeological sites in southern Iraq.


Sumer British  
/ ˈsuːmə /

noun

  1. the S region of Babylonia; seat of a civilization of city-states that reached its height in the 3rd millennium bc

"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

Example Sentences

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Back in Guney, local resident Sumer said the issue of protecting water sources from overexploitation or pollution was ultimately a matter of survival.

From Barron's May 15, 2026

Although written mathematical records appear much later in Sumer, the Halafian pottery points to an earlier and more intuitive form of mathematical reasoning.

From Science Daily Dec. 16, 2025

"Our results show that Sumer was literally and culturally built on the rhythms of water," said Giosan.

From Science Daily Oct. 27, 2025

During a visit, the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, said, “Chile can do greater things,” which made locals hopeful one day the Sumer Olympics could come to their city.

From Washington Times Nov. 5, 2023

Whereas the buildings of Sumer and Assyria were covered with brilliant mosaics and splendid pictorial murals, the Inka style was severe, abstract, stripped down to geometric forms—startlingly contemporary, in fact.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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