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West Bengal

American  

noun

  1. a state in E India: formerly part of the province of Bengal. 33,805 sq. mi. (87,555 sq. km). Calcutta.

West Bengal British  

noun

  1. a state of E India, on the Bay of Bengal: formed in 1947 from the Hindu area of Bengal; additional territories added in 1950 (Cooch Behar), 1954 (Chandernagor), and 1956 (part of Bihar); mostly low-lying and crossed by the Hooghly River. Capital: Kolkata (Calcutta). Pop: 80 221 171 (2001). Area: 88 752 sq km (34 260 sq miles)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

It has built a nursing college and 1,000-bed hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026

Singh returned to Kolkata city in West Bengal, where he worked as a music programmer and assistant, learning studio work.

From BBC • Jan. 28, 2026

Thailand has started screening passengers at three airports that receive flights from West Bengal.

From BBC • Jan. 27, 2026

"My family has been torn apart," Ms Khatun says, as she sits in her parent's one-room shanty in West Bengal.

From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025

Even Chacko had no really complete explanation for why the Communist Party was so much more successful in Kerala than it had been almost anywhere else in India, except perhaps in West Bengal.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

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.