- a republic in S Asia, on the Arabian Sea: the Union of Pakistan, formed in 1947, comprised West and East Pakistan; East Pakistan gained independence as Bangladesh in 1971 and West Pakistan became Pakistan; a member of the Commonwealth from 1947, it withdrew from 1972 until 1989; contains the fertile plains of the Indus valley rising to mountains in the north and west. Official language: Urdu. Official religion: Muslim. Currency: rupee. Capital: Islamabad. Pop: 197 015 955 (2017 est). Area: 801 508 sq km (309 463 sq miles)
- a former republic in S Asia consisting of the provinces of West Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), 1500 km (900 miles) apart: formed in 1947 from the predominantly Muslim parts of India
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
Pa•ki•stan
(pak′ə stan′, pä′kə stän′),USA pronunciation n.
- Place NamesIslamic Republic of, a republic in S Asia, between India and Afghanistan: formerly part of British India;
known as West Pakistan from 1947–71 to distinguish it from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). 132,185,299;
310,403 sq. mi. (803,881 sq. km).Cap.: Islamabad. - Place Names(before 1947) the predominantly Muslim areas of the peninsula of India as distinguished from Hindustan, the predominantly Hindu areas.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Pakistan /ˌpɑːkɪˈstɑːn/ n
'Pakistan' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Ayub Khan
- bagh
- Bahawalpur
- Balochistan
- Bangladesh
- begum
- Bolan Pass
- British India
- CENTO
- Chenab
- Dhaka
- East Bengal
- East Pakistan
- East Pakistani
- Faisalabad
- Gujranwala
- Harappa
- Hyderabad
- Imran Khan
- India
- Indian Empire
- Indo-Pak
- Indus
- Iqbal
- Islamabad
- Jhelum
- Kabul
- Kalat
- Karachi
- Kashmir
- Khyber Pahktunkhwa
- Khyber Pass
- Kutch
- Lahore
- lakh
- Masherbrum
- Middle East
- Mohenjo-Daro
- Multan
- Musharraf
- Nuri
- Oman
- Pakistani
- Pashto
- Pathan
- Peshawar
- Punjab
- Quetta
- Rajasthan
- anna