Tripoli
noun
Also Tripolitania one of the former Barbary States of N Africa: later a province of Turkey; now a part of Libya.
Tripoli
American
[trip-uh-lee]
/ ˈtrɪp ə li /
noun
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Also Tripolitania one of the former Barbary States of N Africa: later a province of Turkey; now a part of Libya.
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a seaport in and the capital of Libya, in the NW part.
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a seaport in N Lebanon, on the Mediterranean.
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(lowercase) any of several siliceous substances, as rottenstone and infusorial earth, used chiefly in polishing.
tripoli
1
British
/ ˈtrɪpəlɪ /
noun
Tripoli
2
British
/ ˈtrɪpəlɪ /
noun
-
Arabic name: Tarabulus el Gharb. Ancient name: Oea. the capital and chief port of Libya, in the northwest on the Mediterranean: founded by Phoenicians in about the 7th century bc ; the only city that has survived of the three (Oea, Leptis Magna, and Sabratha) that formed the African Tripolis ("three cities"); fishing and manufacturing centre. Pop: 1 223 300 (2002 est)
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Arabic name: Tarabulus esh Sham. Ancient name: Tripolis. a port in N Lebanon, on the Mediterranean: the second largest town in Lebanon; taken by the Crusaders in 1109 after a siege of five years; oil-refining and manufacturing centre. Pop: 212 000 (2005 est)
Tripoli
Cultural
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The city dates back to the seventh century b.c.
United States war planes attacked Tripoli in 1986 in retaliation for Libyan terrorist acts against American citizens.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tripoli
C17: named after Tripoli , in Libya or in Lebanon
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.
See Examples For:
The second Libyan, Al Amin Khalifah Fhimah was acquitted and returned home to a hero's welcome in Tripoli.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
The Zawiya refinery, west of the capital Tripoli, was hit in a drone strike on Monday evening - the third such incident in two days.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
As Nigerian author Kola Folayan noted, “it was America and not Tripoli that failed to honor its international commitment.”
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
He said the region housing the capital, Tripoli, and a large proportion of the Libyan population was in "immense need" for infrastructure.
From Barron's ● May 26, 2026
“Men,” he said, “it is exactly one hundred and thirty- eight years since the Marines fought in Tripoli and first raised an American flag over foreign soil.”
From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac
When dry it must be rubbed with fine tripoli.
From Enquire Within Upon Everything The Great Victorian Domestic Standby by Anonymous
Fish and insects, which are frequently found in strata of tripoli, which lie under sulphur beds, induce the belief that lakes formerly existed in Sicily.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 647, May 26, 1888 by Various
Many substances are incorporated with soap, such as salt, soda ash, tripoli, crushed volcanic deposits, ground feldspar, infusorial earth of various kinds, silex, etc.
From Soap-Making Manual A Practical Handbook on the Raw Materials, Their Manipulation, Analysis and Control in the Modern Soap Plant. by E. G. Thomssen
When a sufficient number of coats have been laid on—which will usually be two only—the work must be polished by means of a piece of cloth or felt dipped in tripoli or finely powdered pumice-stone.
From Handbook on Japanning: 2nd Edition For Ironware, Tinware, Wood, Etc. With Sections on Tinplating and Galvanizing by William N. Brown
The greater number of operators, with whose practice I am familiar, use, for polishing plates, prepared tripoli, imported from France, or Browne's rotten-stone.
From American Hand Book of the Daguerreotype by S. D. (Samuel Dwight) Humphrey
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.
