(in Afghanistan) a fundamentalist Islamic army: in 1996 it defeated the ruling mujaheddin factions and seized control of the country; overthrown in 2001 by US-led forces, although resistance continues, esp in the south
Word origin
C20: from Arabic tāliban seekers
Taliban in American English
(ˈtæləˌbæn; ˈtɑləˌbɑn)
noun
a militant, fundamentalist-Islamic movement, chiefly in Afghanistan and Pakistan