Tibet

American  

[ti-bet] / tɪˈbɛt /

noun

1. (Older Spelling) Sitsang. (Pinyin) Xizang. Official Name Tibet Autonomous Region. an administrative division of China, north of the Himalayas: prior to 1950 a theocracy under the Dalai Lama; the highest country in the world, average elevation about 16,000 feet (4,877 meters). 471,660 square miles (1,221,599 square kilometers). Lhasa. Also Thibet

2. Also called Roof of the World, Tibetan Highlands. Plateau of Tibet, a vast plateau in southern central Asia bounded by the Tarim and Qaidam basin deserts to the north and the Himalayan, Karakoram, and Pamir mountain ranges to the south and west: highest plateau in the world, averaging about 15,000 feet (4,570 meters). 850,000 square miles (2,200,000 square kilometers).

---

Tibet British  

/ tɪˈbɛt /

noun

1. Chinese names: Xizang Autonomous Region, Sitsang. an autonomous region of SW China; formerly a theocracy and the centre of Lamaism: Europeans strictly excluded in the 19th century; invaded by China in 1950; rebellion (1959) against Chinese rule suppressed and the Dalai Lama fled to India; military rule imposed (1989–90) after continued demands for independence; consists largely of a vast high plateau between the Himalayas and Kunlun Mountains. Capital: Lhasa. Pop: 2 700 000 (2003 est). Area: 1 221 601 sq km (471 660 sq miles)

---

Tibet Cultural  

1. Region in southwestern China, bordered by Burma to the southeast; India, Bhutan, and Nepal to the south; India to the west; and Chinese provinces to the north and east. Located in the Himalayas.

---

Discover More

The Dalai Lama, religious and civil leader of Tibet, was forced into exile in 1959, when the Chinese annexed the country.

Other Word Forms

• Tibetan
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Tibet

First recorded in 1740–50; from New Latin Tibetum, Thibetum; further origin uncertain

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Tibet

SHANGRI-LA, China—When China’s masses want to experience the Tibet of chanting, crimson-robed monks and prayer flags flapping in the wind, they don’t go to Tibet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

But four bodies have been recovered and 12 people remain missing after an avalanche near the base of Himlung Peak, close to the border with Tibet.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Its targets included the International Campaign for Tibet, the Washington organization I chair, which works to promote human rights and democratic freedom for the Tibetan people.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

Foreign journalists cannot travel freely in China's Tibet Autonomous Region and may only visit as part of strictly controlled trips organised by the authorities.

From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026

He subsisted exclusively on rice and eagles’ blood, in a tiny cottage with an underground gymnasium and shooting range, on the stormy coast of Tibet.

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger