Colombia

American  

[kuh-luhm-bee-uh, kaw-lawm-byah] / kəˈlʌm bi ə, kɔˈlɔm byɑ /

noun

1. a republic in northwestern South America. 439,828 sq. mi. (1,139,155 sq. km). Bogotá.

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Colombia British  

/ kəˈlɒmbɪə /

noun

1. a republic in NW South America: inhabited by Chibchas and other Indians before Spanish colonization in the 16th century; independence won by Bolívar in 1819; became the Republic of Colombia in 1886; violence and unrest have been endemic since the 1970s. It consists chiefly of a hot swampy coastal plain, separated by ranges of the Andes from the pampas and the equatorial forests of the Amazon basin in the east. Language: Spanish. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: peso. Capital: Bogotá. Pop: 45 745 783 (2013 est). Area: 1 138 908 sq km (439 735 sq miles)

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Colombia Cultural  

1. Republic in northwestern South America, bordered by Panama to the northwest, Venezuela to the northeast, Ecuador and Peru to the south, and Brazil to the southeast. Its capital and largest city is Bogotá.

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Discover More

Trafficking of marijuana and cocaine remains a problem in Colombia. With support from the United States, the Colombian government has attacked drug traffickers, but the country continues to be torn by civil war between left-wing and right-wing factions.

Its major legal crop is coffee.

Other Word Forms

• Colombian adjective

Example Sentences

Genetic analysis shows that Cryptotermes mobydicki is closely related to other species found across the Neotropics, including populations in Colombia, Trinidad and the Dominican Republic.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

Notably absent were Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, major players whose combined GDP accounts for 60% of Latin America’s economy.

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026

This slowdown happened even after global expansion, with the app announcing in a post on X in December that it launched in 10 new countries, including Argentina, Chile, and Colombia.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

The same year, Harry Styles paused during a performance in Colombia because fans in the front row were telling him: "We can't breathe."

From BBC • Mar. 21, 2026

And—most surprisingly—if he was going to visit his parents in Colombia.

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott