Cameroon

American  

[kam-uh-roon] / ˌkæm əˈrun /

noun

1. Official Name United Republic of Cameroon.  Former Official Name Federal Republic of Cameroon.  Also an independent republic in western Africa: formed 1960 by the French trusteeship of Cameroun; Southern Cameroons incorporated as a self-governing province 1961. 183,350 sq. mi. (474,877 sq. km). Yaoundé.

2. an active volcano in western Cameroon: highest peak on the coast of western Africa. 13,370 feet (4,075 meters).

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Cameroon British  

/ ˌkæməˈruːn, ˈkæməˌruːn /

noun

1. French name: Cameroun.  German name: Kamerun.  a republic in West Africa, on the Gulf of Guinea: became a German colony in 1884; divided in 1919 into the Cameroons (administered by Britain) and Cameroun (administered by France); Cameroun and the S part of the Cameroons formed a republic in 1961 (the N part joined Nigeria); became a member of the Commonwealth in 1995. Official languages: French and English. Religions: Christian, Muslim, and animist. Currency: franc. Capital: Yaoundé. Pop: 20 549 221 (2013 est). Area: 475 500 sq km (183 591 sq miles)

2. an active volcano in W Cameroon: the highest peak on the West African coast. Height: 4070 m (13 352 ft)

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Cameroon Cultural  

1. Republic in west-central Africa, bordered by Nigeria to the northwest, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea to the south, and the Gulf of Guinea (part of the Atlantic Ocean) to the west. Yaounde is its capital, and Douala is its largest city.

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Discover More

Cameroon was under British and French control from World War I until 1960.

Other Word Forms

• Cameroonian
  adjective
• anti-Cameroon
  adjective
• pro-Cameroon
  adjective

Example Sentences

Reports David has heard from clients in Cameroon are even grimmer: the IOM has refused to facilitate medical care for some detainees, the lawyer said.

From Barron's • Jul. 7, 2026

How has a nation of just 525,000 inhabitants, who qualified ahead of five-time African champions Cameroon, made it this far?

From BBC • Jun. 27, 2026

When France won the World Cup in 2018, 16 of the 23 players on the team came from families that recently immigrated from places like Zaire, Cameroon, Morocco, Angola, Congo or Algeria.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2026

Francis Ngannou dropped out of school to work in a sand quarry at 10 years old and illegally migrated from Cameroon to France to pursue boxing, and went from homeless to heavyweight champion.

From Slate • Jun. 14, 2026

After that, we stayed in London while Baba traveled to Singapore, Malaysia, Cameroon, and the Philippines on short-term engineering contracts.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins