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

Derived 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

To determine whether these frogs had been significantly underestimated, Chan and his colleagues collected DNA from specimens gathered across the mountainous rainforests of Malaysian Borneo.

From Science Daily • Mar. 9, 2026

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

Indonesia is moving its capital from Jakarta to a new city being built on the island of Borneo.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2024

Grandpa laid the book on the table and both of us read the title, Trapping Monkeys in the Jungles of Borneo.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls