Liberia

[ lahy-beer-ee-uh ]

noun
  1. a republic in West Africa: founded in 1822 by freeborn and formerly enslaved Black people from the United States. About 43,000 sq. mi. (111,000 sq. km). Capital: Monrovia.

Origin of Liberia

1
First recorded in 1825–30; from Latin līber “free” + -ia

Other words from Liberia

  • an·ti-Li·be·ri·an, adjective, noun
  • Li·be·ri·an, adjective, noun
  • pro-Li·be·ri·an, adjective, noun
  • trans-Li·be·ri·an, adjective

Words Nearby Liberia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Liberia in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Liberia

Liberia

/ (laɪˈbɪərɪə) /


noun
  1. a republic in W Africa, on the Atlantic: originated in 1822 as a home for freed Afro-American slaves, with land purchased by the American Colonization Society; republic declared in 1847; exports are predominantly rubber and iron ore. Official language: English. Religion: Christian majority, also animist. Currency: dollar. Capital: Monrovia. Pop: 3 989 703 (2013 est). Area: 111 400 sq km (43 000 sq miles)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Liberia

Liberia

Republic in western Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone to the northwest, Guinea to the north, the Ivory Coast to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest.

Notes for Liberia

The American Colonization Society began settlement of black Americans, most of them freed slaves, in 1822. Eventually, 15,000 blacks emigrated to Liberia.

Notes for Liberia

A civil war that commenced in 1989 and that lasted until the mid-1990s claimed more than 150,000 lives.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.