buffer state

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.

For more than 30 years before that, effectively since World War II, Afghanistan had served as a buffer state between the American and the Soviet empires.

From Salon • Dec. 13, 2025

Syria’s future would be determined by the Arabs, Iran would accept Iraq as a neutral buffer state between it and the Sunni Arab world, and an uneasy peace would prevail.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2018

The U.S. troops give Kim leverage with China, which sees North Korea as a buffer state between its border and a well-armed U.S. ally.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2018

Retreating from earlier pledges, the British did not demand an Indian buffer state around the Great Lakes, and left Tecumseh’s followers to face the Americans alone.

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

Savoy, the important buffer state, was detached from France by the marriage of the somewhat feeble duke to Charles’s capable and devoted sister-in-law, Beatrice of Portugal.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 8 "Chariot" to "Chatelaine" by Various