Kenya

[ ken-yuh, keen- ]

noun
  1. a republic in E Africa: member of the Commonwealth of Nations; formerly a British crown colony and protectorate. 223,478 sq. mi. (578,808 sq. km). Capital: Nairobi.

  2. Mount, an extinct volcano in central Kenya. 17,040 feet (5,194 meters).

Other words from Kenya

  • Kenyan, adjective, noun

Words Nearby Kenya

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

How to use Kenya in a sentence

  • The Guaso Nyiro rises in the hills north-west of Kenya and flows in a north-east direction.

  • The centre of the picture is always Mount Kenya; but there never was a mountain which made so little of its height.

    My African Journey | Winston Churchill
  • He's not going to be able to speak Arabic to, say, a Masai in Kenya.

    Border, Breed Nor Birth | Dallas McCord Reynolds
  • When Gregory ascended the glacier of Mount Kenya, the water froze in the cooking-pots which had been filled over night.

    Religion and Lust | James Weir
  • He stood at the top of the hill and looked out over the green table land of Kenya.

    The Dueling Machine | Benjamin William Bova

British Dictionary definitions for Kenya

Kenya

/ (ˈkɛnjə, ˈkiːnjə) /


noun
  1. a republic in E Africa, on the Indian Ocean: became a British protectorate in 1895 and a colony in 1920; gained independence in 1963 and is a member of the Commonwealth. Tea and coffee constitute about a third of the total exports. Official languages: Swahili and English. Religions: Christian majority, animist minority. Currency: shilling. Capital: Nairobi. Pop: 44 037 656 (2013 est). Area: 582 647 sq km (224 960 sq miles)

  2. Mount Kenya an extinct volcano in central Kenya: the second highest mountain in Africa; girth at 2400 m (8000 ft) is about 150 km (95 miles). The regions above 3200 m (10 500 ft) constitute Mount Kenya National Park . Height: 5199 m (17 058 ft): Local name: Kirinyaga

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 Kenya

Kenya

[ (ken-yuh, keen-yuh) ]


Republic in eastern Africa bordered by Sudan and Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the east, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, Tanzania to the southwest, and Uganda to the west. Its capital and largest city is Nairobi.

Notes for Kenya

The Great Rift Valley in Kenya is the site of some major archaeological discoveries, including remains of the earliest known humans.

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.