Showing results for ECOWAS. Search instead for IOWAS.

ECOWAS

British

/ ɛˈkəʊəs /

acronym

Economic Community of West African States; an economic association established in 1975 whose members are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Mauritania joined but withdrew in 2002

"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.

That only ended in April 2020 when the west African regional bloc, ECOWAS, recognised Embalo as the winner.

From Barron's • Nov. 28, 2025

The opposition leaders had called on citizens to “defend” democracy amid a push for dialogue by West Africa’s regional bloc known as ECOWAS.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 4, 2024

ECOWAS, led by President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria, backed down.

From New York Times • Jan. 28, 2024

Tinubu is the chairman of the main West African bloc ECOWAS, which has been trying to negotiate with the Niger military junta.

From Reuters • Oct. 2, 2023

Talks this weekend between Niger’s new military regime and a delegation from the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, have reportedly yielded little progress.

From Washington Times • Aug. 20, 2023

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023