Also Tripolitania one of the former Barbary States of N Africa: later a province of Turkey; now a part of Libya.
a seaport in and the capital of Libya, in the NW part.
a seaport in N Lebanon, on the Mediterranean.
(lowercase) any of several siliceous substances, as rottenstone and infusorial earth, used chiefly in polishing.
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)
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)
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.
C17: named after Tripoli , in Libya or in Lebanon
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Tripoli wanted to be viewed as independent, but the U.S. had instead lumped all these nations together ideologically and diplomatically, then decided to ignore Tripoli entirely for several years.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
The oil-rich country remains divided between a UN-recognised government based in its capital, Tripoli, and the eastern administration in Benghazi backed by the Haftars.
From Barron's ● May 26, 2026
Marines from the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli then boarded the Touska by helicopter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
On Saturday, the USS Tripoli, a naval warship, arrived in the Middle East carrying about 3,500 sailors and Marines and a transport of fighter planes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026
She worked at an air base in Athens, then another in Tripoli, Libya.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
The active constituent of all metal polishes is generally chalk, rouge, or tripoli, because these produce a polish on metallic surfaces.
From Handbook on Japanning: 2nd Edition For Ironware, Tinware, Wood, Etc. With Sections on Tinplating and Galvanizing by Brown, William N.
It is the chief ingredient of sand, sandstone, quartzite, chert, diatomaceous earth, and tripoli.
From The Economic Aspect of Geology by Leith, C. K. (Charles Kenneth)
Upper Miocene.—Calcareous marl; gypsum, etc.; sulphur embedded in calcareous limestone; silicious limestone; tripoli, containing fossils of fish, insects' eggs, etc.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 647, May 26, 1888 by Various
He does not get a wheel with tripoli, or emery, or buff.
From From Sea to Sea Letters of Travel by Kipling, Rudyard
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 Thomssen, E. G.
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.
