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Basilan

American  
[buh-see-lahn] / bəˈsi lɑn /

noun

  1. an island in the Philippines, southwest of Mindanao. 495 sq. mi. (1,282 sq. km).

  2. Formerly Isabela.  a city on this island.


Basilan British  
/ bæˈsiːlæn, bəˈsiːlɑːn /

noun

  1. a group of islands in the Philippines, SW of Mindanao

  2. the main island of this group, separated from Mindanao by the Basilan Strait . Area: 1282 sq km (495 sq miles)

  3. a city on Basilan Island. Pop: 381 000 (2005 est)

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

"We're near Basilan, but it took them more than three hours to respond to us," he said.

From Barron's Jan. 26, 2026

A Facebook video by Basilan Governor Mujiv Hataman showed survivors wrapped in blankets as they disembarked from a rescue boat.

From BBC Jan. 25, 2026

The five-province Muslim region, which includes Basilan, is now led by former guerrilla leaders under a transition period ending in 2025.

From Seattle Times Nov. 10, 2022

In 2019, on the island of Basilan in the southern Philippines, Catholic teachers terrified by years of deadly insurgent activity joined in a seafood feast with a local Muslim leader.

From New York Times Jan. 2, 2021

Basilan dropped astern as they negotiated the countless islands of the Pilas Group.

From The Pirates of Shan by Harold L. (Harold Leland) Goodwin

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