Thailand
Americannoun
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Formerly Siam. a kingdom in SE Asia: official name of Siam 1939–45 and since 1949. 198,242 sq. mi. (513,445 sq. km). Bangkok.
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Also called Gulf of Siam. Gulf of. an arm of the South China Sea, S of Thailand.
noun
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Former name (until 1939 and 1945–49): Siam. a kingdom in SE Asia, on the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand: united as a kingdom in 1350 and became a major SE Asian power; consists chiefly of a central plain around the Chao Phraya river system, mountains rising over 2400 m (8000 ft) in the northwest, and rainforest the length of the S peninsula. Parts of the SW coast suffered badly in the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004. Official language: Thai. Official religion: (Hinayana) Buddhist. Currency: baht. Capital: Bangkok. Pop: 67 448 120 (2013 est). Area: 513 998 sq km (198 455 sq miles)
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Former name: Gulf of Siam. an arm of the South China Sea between the Malay Peninsula and Indochina
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Strongly supported the United States during the Vietnam War, Thailand was the site of American air bases until 1976, when relations with the United States deteriorated.
During the early 1990s, its economy became one of the strongest in Asia, but it experienced a sharp downturn in the mid-1990s.
Thailand was formerly called Siam.
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 teenagers from Cardiff, were arrested in Thailand in June and remain in custody.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
While there are restrictions on gun licences in Thailand, people can still acquire the weapons - legally or illegally - with relative ease.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
A source in Min Aung Hlaing's entourage told AFP he had arrived in Thailand on Thursday, and tracking websites showed a flight from the Myanmar capital Naypyidaw landing in Bangkok.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
Would it be foolish to sell $10,000 in shares to visit my grandchildren in Thailand?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
Newcomers without friends or family spend their first night in Thailand in the hollow, wooden church.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
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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.