Samarkand

American  

[sam-er-kand, suh-muhr-kahnt] / ˌsæm ərˈkænd, sə mʌrˈkɑnt /

Or Samarcand,

noun

1. a city in SE Uzbekistan: taken by Alexander the Great 329 b.c.; Tamerlane's capital in the 14th century.

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Samarkand British  

/ ˈsæməˌkænd, səmarˈkant /

noun

1. Ancient name: Maracanda.  a city in E Uzbekistan: under Tamerlane it became the chief economic and cultural centre of central Asia, on trade routes from China and India (the "silk road"). Pop: 289 000 (2005 est)

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Example Sentences

The meeting in Samarkand runs until December 5.

From Barron's • Nov. 24, 2025

FIDE’s World Rapid Championships, which concluded last week in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, featured a very familiar face in the open competition and a huge surprise in the women’s rapid title fight.

From Washington Times • Jan. 2, 2024

He said he didn’t get much sleep before he visited a mausoleum the next morning, followed by a tour of the Afrasiyab Museum in Samarkand.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 4, 2023

He was born in 1982 in Samarkand, Soviet Uzbekistan - where his Muslim family had been exiled along with 200,000 Tatars during the rule of Joseph Stalin.

From BBC • Sep. 4, 2023

Would Samarkand or Cathay or Cipango have suffered the same fate if visited?

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck