Senegal

American  

[sen-i-gawl, -gahl] / ˌsɛn ɪˈgɔl, -ˈgɑl /

noun

1. a republic in western Africa, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean and on the east by Mali. 76,084 square miles (197,057 square kilometers). Dakar.

2. a river in western Africa, flowing northwest from eastern Mali to the Atlantic Ocean at Saint-Louis in Senegal. About 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) long.

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Senegal British  

/ ˌsɛnɪˈɡɔːl /

noun

1. a republic in West Africa, on the Atlantic: made part of French West Africa in 1895; became fully independent in 1960; joined with The Gambia to form the Confederation of Senegambia (1982–89); mostly low-lying, with semidesert in the north and tropical forest in the southwest Official language: French. Religion: Muslim majority. Currency: franc. Capital: Dakar. Pop: 13 300 410 (2013 est). Area: 197 160 sq km (76 124 sq miles)

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Senegal Cultural  

1. Republic in western Africa, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south. Dakar is the capital and largest city.

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Discover More

Senegal was a French colony from 1895 to 1958. It became fully independent in 1960.

Etymology

Origin of Senegal

First recorded in 1750–60; from French Sénégal, named after the Senegal River

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Senegal

Senegal last month alerted international bondholders and Chinese state-owned banks that it would need debt relief.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

In Senegal, fishmeal has put local fishers out of work, so they increasingly are selling — or repurposing — their boats to ferry migrants to Spain’s Canary Islands, a stepping stone to Europe.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

When it was first formed in 2015, the Saudi-led coalition consisted of nine nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain along with Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan and Senegal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

Scouts have also been at the recent Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying and Delphlyx has helped organise trials for players from Senegal and Gambia at Premier League clubs.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

So we were all to meet up there in Senegal and travel around for a few weeks seeing the sights.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

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