Svalbard

American  

[svahl-bahr] / ˈsvɑl bɑr /

noun

1. Norwegian name of Spitsbergen.

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Svalbard British  

/ ˈsvaːlbar /

noun

1. Also called: Spitsbergen. a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, about 650 km (400 miles) north of Norway: consists of the main group (Spitsbergen, North East Land, Edge Island, Barents Island, and Prince Charles Foreland) and a number of outlying islands; sovereignty long disputed but granted to Norway in 1920; coal mining. Administrative centre: Longyearbyen. Pop: 1970 (2013 est). Area: 62 050 sq km (23 958 sq miles)

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Svalbard

It is not the first time people have been fined for disrupting animals in the Svalbard region.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

India, which operates an Arctic research base on Norway's Svalbard island, is also tracking what the opening of sea ice routes driven by climate change means for its shipping.

From Barron's ● May 15, 2026

Megan Brief, a digital marketing coordinator for Natural Habitat Adventures, an ecotourism company, had just returned from Svalbard, a far-flung Norwegian archipelago teeming with polar bears and walruses.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2026

In contrast, Aphaneramma fossils have been discovered in rocks of similar age in Svalbard in the Scandinavian Arctic, the Russian Far East, Pakistan, and Madagascar.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 25, 2026

At first, he’d said, the Svalbard bears regarded Lord Asriel as being no different from any of the other politicians, kings, or troublemakers who had been exiled to their bleak island.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman