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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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

Regardless, by about 5000 BCE, they were clearly in contact with the civilizations in Egypt and Sumer.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

The societies without writing that I just mentioned are ones that got a later start on food production than did Sumer, Mexico, and China.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond