Borneo

American  

[bawr-nee-oh] / ˈbɔr niˌoʊ /

noun

1. an island in the Malay Archipelago, politically divided among Indonesia, Malaysia, and the British-protected sultanate of Brunei. 290,000 sq. mi. (750,000 sq. km).

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Borneo British  

/ ˈbɔːnɪˌəʊ /

noun

1. an island in the W Pacific, between the Sulu and Java Seas, part of the Malay Archipelago: divided into Kalimantan ( Indonesian Borneo ), the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, and the sultanate of Brunei; mountainous and densely forested. Area: about 750 000 sq km (290 000 sq miles)

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Borneo Cultural  

1. Island in Indonesia southwest of the Philippines and north of Java.

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The third-largest island in the world, Borneo is mostly covered by dense jungle and rain forest.

Other Word Forms

• Bornean
  adjective

Example Sentences

In Borneo, a mythic spider brings forth life by feeding a tree; in Polynesia, spider-silk ladders connect heaven and earth.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

After climbing expeditions to Chad and Borneo, Honnold was inspired to research environmental activism and in 2012 founded the Honnold Foundation to support solar energy projects, according to the organization’s website.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 23, 2026

The largest of these lies in the Western Pacific, east of the Philippines and Borneo.

From Science Daily • Dec. 25, 2025

Indonesia has one of the world's highest rates of deforestation linked to mining, farming and logging, and is accused of allowing firms to operate in Borneo with little oversight.

From Barron's • Oct. 21, 2025

Other magical creatures inhabit places inaccessible to Muggles—one thinks of the Acromantula, deep in the uncharted jungle of Borneo, and the phoenix, nesting high on mountain peaks unreachable without the use of magic.

From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling