near east

noun

1. an indefinite geographical or regional term, usually referring to the countries of SW Asia, including Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia and the other nations of the Arabian Peninsula.Compare Middle East(def 1).

noun

1. another term for the Middle East
2. (formerly) the Balkan States and the area of the Ottoman Empire

A region in western Asia and northeastern Africa, often considered the same as the Middle East.