Iraq

or I·rak

[ ih-rak, ih-rahk ]

noun

1. a republic in SW Asia, N of Saudi Arabia and W of Iran, centering in the Tigris-Euphrates basin of Mesopotamia. 172,000 sq. mi. (445,480 sq. km). : Baghdad.

Iraq

/ ɪˈrɑːk /

noun

1. a republic in SW Asia, on the Persian Gulf: coextensive with ancient Mesopotamia; became a British mandate in 1920, independent in 1932, and a republic in 1958. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait (1990) led to their defeat in the first Gulf War (1991) by US-led UN forces. The second Gulf War (2003) took place when Iraq was invaded by a coalition of US, UK and other forces; government elected in 2005, although there is continuing violence and resistance to the coalition presence; the last coalition troops left the country in 2011. Iraq consists chiefly of the mountains of Kurdistan in the northeast, part of the Syrian Desert, and the lower basin of the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates. Oil is the major export. Official language: Arabic; Kurdish is official in the Kurdish Autonomous Region only. Official religion: Muslim. Currency: dinar. Capital: Baghdad. Pop: 31 858 481 (2013 est). Area: 438 446 sq km (169 284 sq miles)

Iraq

1. Republic in the Middle East , bordered by the Persian Gulf , Kuwait , and Saudi Arabia to the south; Jordan and Syria to the west; Turkey to the north; and Iran to the east. Its capital and largest city is Baghdad .

Notes

Ruled by Saddam Hussein , a dictator who invaded Iran in 1980 and Kuwait in 1990. ( See also Persian Gulf War .)

The ancient civilization of Mesopotamia emerged in the valley between the Euphrates River and Tigris River in what is now Iraq.

Other Words From

• an·ti-I·raq adjective
• pro-I·raq adjective
• trans-I·raq adjective

Example Sentences

Informed by more than a decade of fighting the Americans in Iraq, these men had mustered up a near‑conventional military, a force skilled in tactics and aligned on strategy to take and keep territory.

From Time

Her Pulitzer citation in 2019 also cited her work on “The ISIS Files,” a text and audio project exploring how ISIS held power that was made possible by some 15,000 documents she retrieved from Iraq.

From Washington Post

Iraq’s deputy leader this week criticized OPEC, saying the economic and political conditions of member countries should be considered before they are asked to withhold production.

From Fortune

I saw in him what I’ve seen from soldiers in more recent wars, like Iraq and Afghanistan.

From Time

In another experiment, Carbon asked 220 volunteers at the University of Vienna about their attitude toward the war between the US and Iraq, which was still ongoing at the time of the study, and their attitude toward US citizens.

From Popular-Science

Iraq may have been an irregular fight, but it had major moments.

From The Daily Beast

The American military may have launched hundreds of airstrikes on Iraq and Syria.

From The Daily Beast

Officials have said the war to reclaim upward of a third of Iraq and a quarter of Syria from ISIS could take years.

From The Daily Beast

The account goes some way in showing just how present the Quds and other forces are in Iraq at this point in time.

From The Daily Beast

“Under Suleimani several military branches have taken shape [in Iraq] which are run by Iran and the Iranian military,” he said.

From The Daily Beast

Simultaneously, Iraq's armed forces would be paralyzed with the neutralization or destruction of its capabilities.

From Project Gutenberg

Land forces remaining in southeastern Iraq provided the staying power and control.

From Project Gutenberg

Often and with pleasure have we in the Iraq looked back on that summer spent in Picardy.

From Project Gutenberg

We have called on the United Nations to fulfill its charter and stand by its demand that Iraq disarm.

From Project Gutenberg

Our nation and the world must learn the lessons of the Korean Peninsula and not allow an even greater threat to rise up in Iraq.

From Project Gutenberg