Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

Istanbul

play
geographical name Is·tan·bul \ˌis-tən-ˈbül, -ˌtan-, -ˌtän-, -ˈbu̇l, ˈis-tən-ˌ, or with m for n\
variants: or formerly

Constantinople

play \ˌkän-ˌstan-tə-ˈnō-pəl\ or ancient

Byzantium

play \bə-ˈzan-tē-əm, -ˈzan-sh(ē-)əm\

Definition of Istanbul

  1. city in northwestern Turkey partly in Europe and partly in Asia on the Bosporus and the Sea of Marmara; capital of Turkey before its independence in 1923 and earlier capital of the Ottoman Empire population 12,500,000

Explore M-W

alt-59760690a61d7
Trending: Trump Tweets, We Define: 'Beleaguered'
image386126722
Words That Come From the Dinner Table
alt-596f95fe451e7
'Drought' & 'Drouth' Take Us Back In Time
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

ISTANBUL Defined for English Language Learners

Istanbul

play
geographical name

Definition of Istanbul for English Language Learners

  • : city in Turkey

Learn More about istanbul

  1. See words that rhyme with Istanbul Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about Istanbul

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up Istanbul? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

haphazard

play

marked by lack of plan or order

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. beleaguer 'Being subjected to constant or repeated trouble or harassment'

  2. scaramouch A new White House communications director

  3. non sequitur “It does not follow”

  4. admiral's mast A massive search ends with an 'admiral's mast'.

  5. calumny 'An untrue statement that is made to damage someone's reputation'

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-596f95fe451e7
'Drought' & 'Drouth' Take Us Back In Time

A variant spelling with a long history

alt-59721dd897313
The 'Best' Way to Sign Off On An E-mail

Give them your best

image386126722
Words and Phrases That Come from the Dinner Table

Fill your plate with these surprising food words

ghost-being-disinvited-from-party
'Disinvite' or 'Uninvite'?

A disinvited guest is an uninvited problem

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz
image941935269
A Game of Thrones Word Quiz

In the Game of Thrones quiz, you learn some new vocabulary. (It’s quite safe, really. You will not die.)

Take the quiz
True or False
True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz
Dictionary Devil
Dictionary Devil

The dictionary has been scrambled—can you put it back together?

Play the game