Jamaica

American  

[juh-mey-kuh] / dʒəˈmeɪ kə /

noun

1. an island in the West Indies, S of Cuba. 4,413 sq. mi. (11,430 sq. km).

2. a republic coextensive with this island: formerly a British colony; became independent in 1962, retaining membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. Kingston.

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Jamaica British  

/ dʒəˈmeɪkə /

noun

1. an island and state in the Caribbean: colonized by the Spanish from 1494 onwards, large numbers of Black slaves being imported; captured by the British in 1655 and established as a colony in 1866; gained full independence in 1962; a member of the Commonwealth. Exports: chiefly bauxite and alumina, sugar, and bananas. Official language: English. Religion: Protestant majority. Currency: Jamaican dollar. Capital: Kingston. Pop: 2 909 714 (2013 est). Area: 10 992 sq km (4244 sq miles)

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Jamaica Cultural  

1. Nation in the West Indies, situated south of Cuba and west of Haiti, in the Caribbean Sea. Its capital and largest city is Kingston.

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Discover More

The country has a high level of poverty.

Tourism is a major industry.

It was the leading world sugar producer in the eighteenth century, when a large slave population grew up around sugar plantations.

A British colony from 1865 to 1962, Jamaica then became completely independent.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Jamaica

Saturday's netball results mean Jamaica and New Zealand will battle it out for the gold on Sunday during some of the final medal awards of the tournament.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

When the fastest man on the planet won Commonwealth relay gold for Jamaica in 2014, more than 50,000 fans cheered him home at Hampden.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

In Pochettino’s first year in charge, for example, the U.S. played Panama twice, Jamaica twice, Trinidad and Tobago, Saudi Arabia, Haiti, Guatemala and Venezuela, losing just once.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026

The company’s success made him rich, with homes in, among other places, France and Jamaica, and a lineup of famous friends like Lionel Hampton and Ray Charles, who came over for barbecues.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

We’d have babies at the same time, take family beach trips to Jamaica, remain mildly critical of each other’s parenting techniques, and be favorite fun aunties to each other’s kids as they grew.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama