Turkestan

American  

[tur-kuh-stan, -stahn, tur-kuh-stan, -stahn] / ˈtɜr kəˌstæn, -ˌstɑn, ˌtɜr kəˈstæn, -ˈstɑn /

Or Turkistan

noun

1. a vast region in western and central Asia, east of the Caspian Sea: includes territory in the south central part of Xinjiang province in China Eastern Turkestan or Chinese Turkestan, a strip of northern Afghanistan, and the area Russian Turkestan comprising the republics of Kazakhstan, Kirghizia (Kyrgyzstan), Tadzhikistan (Tajikistan), Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

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Turkestan British  

/ ˌtɜːkɪˈstɑːn /

noun

1. an extensive region of central Asia between Siberia in the north and Tibet, India, Afghanistan, and Iran in the south: formerly divided into West ( Russian ) Turkestan (also called Soviet Central Asia), comprising present-day Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan and the S part of Kazakhstan, and East ( Chinese ) Turkestan , approximating to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China

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Other Word Forms

• Turkestanian
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Turkestan

First recorded in 1710–20; from Persian Torkestān; literally, “land of the Turks”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Turkestan

Kazakh authorities are betting on cloud seeding to reduce the impact of drought and water shortages in its southern Turkestan region, the country's leading cotton-growing region.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

Ethnically Uighur, Mamat left China at age 12 after an uprising in the region of East Turkestan, where most of Mamat’s extended family still lives.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 20, 2023

In California, Turkestan cockroaches are a relatively recent introduction and, you guessed it, are considered invasive.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2023

At its height, the Ghaznavid Empire encompassed a vast swath of central Asia and included parts of modern Iran, Afghanistan, and the historical region of Turkestan.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

Early in the eleventh century the bulk of the Turkish nation, under its leader Tongrol Bek, moving out from Turkestan, swept down upon Persia.

From The Roman Empire in the Light of Prophecy The Rise, Progress, and End of the Fourth World-empire by W. E. Vine