Colombia

American  

[kuh-luhm-bee-uh, kaw-lawm-byah] / kəˈlʌm bi ə, kɔˈlɔm byɑ /

noun

1. a republic in northwestern South America. 439,828 sq. mi. (1,139,155 sq. km). Bogotá.

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Colombia British  

/ kəˈlɒmbɪə /

noun

1. a republic in NW South America: inhabited by Chibchas and other Indians before Spanish colonization in the 16th century; independence won by Bolívar in 1819; became the Republic of Colombia in 1886; violence and unrest have been endemic since the 1970s. It consists chiefly of a hot swampy coastal plain, separated by ranges of the Andes from the pampas and the equatorial forests of the Amazon basin in the east. Language: Spanish. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: peso. Capital: Bogotá. Pop: 45 745 783 (2013 est). Area: 1 138 908 sq km (439 735 sq miles)

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Colombia Cultural  

1. Republic in northwestern South America, bordered by Panama to the northwest, Venezuela to the northeast, Ecuador and Peru to the south, and Brazil to the southeast. Its capital and largest city is Bogotá.

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Discover More

Trafficking of marijuana and cocaine remains a problem in Colombia. With support from the United States, the Colombian government has attacked drug traffickers, but the country continues to be torn by civil war between left-wing and right-wing factions.

Its major legal crop is coffee.

Other Word Forms

• Colombian adjective

Example Sentences

In roughly ten years, the species has expanded into more than 25 U.S. states, including Texas, District of Colombia, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Louisiana.

From Science Daily • Apr. 24, 2026

Around 60 nations are gathering in Santa Marta, Colombia as the world warms rapidly, mainly from the use of coal, oil and gas.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

Delegates say this new meeting in Colombia is not to replace the COP, but to complement it.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

Colombia has attracted investment from clean energy companies in China and the United States.

From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026

"I've never been to Perú. We met in Colombia."

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez