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• guinea
  guinea

  noun

  a former money of account of the United Kingdom, equal to 21 shillings: still often used in quoting fees or prices.
• Guinea
  Guinea

  noun

  a coastal region in western Africa, extending from the Gambia River to the Gabon estuary.

guinea

¹ American  

[gin-ee] / ˈgɪn i /

noun

• guineas
  plural

1. a former money of account of the United Kingdom, equal to 21 shillings: still often used in quoting fees or prices.

2. a gold coin of Great Britain issued from 1663 to 1813, with a nominal value of 20 shillings.

3. Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a person of Italian birth or descent.

4. Horse Racing. a person who does miscellaneous work in or around a horse stable.

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Guinea ² American  

[gin-ee] / ˈgɪn i /

noun

1. a coastal region in western Africa, extending from the Gambia River to the Gabon estuary.

2. Formerly French Guinea. an independent republic in western Africa, on the Atlantic coast. About 96,900 sq. mi. (251,000 sq. km). Conakry.

3. Gulf of Guinea, a part of the Atlantic Ocean that projects into the western coast of Africa and extends from the Ivory Coast to Gabon.

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Guinea ¹ British  

/ ˈɡɪnɪ /

noun

1. a republic in West Africa, on the Atlantic: established as the colony of French Guinea in 1890 and became an independent republic in 1958. Official language: French. Religion: Muslim majority and animist. Currency: franc. Capital: Conakry. Pop: 11 176 026 (2013 est). Area: 245 855 sq km (94 925 sq miles)

2. (formerly) the coastal region of West Africa, between Cape Verde and Namibe (formerly Moçâmedes; Angola): divided by a line of volcanic peaks into Upper Guinea (between The Gambia and Cameroon) and Lower Guinea (between Cameroon and S Angola)

3. a large inlet of the S Atlantic on the W coast of Africa, extending from Cape Palmas, Liberia, to Cape Lopez, Gabon: contains two large bays, the Bight of Bonny and the Bight of Benin, separated by the Niger delta

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guinea ² British  

/ ˈɡɪnɪ /

noun

1. 1. a British gold coin taken out of circulation in 1813, worth 21 shillings

   2. the sum of 21 shillings (£1.05), still used in some contexts, as in quoting professional fees

2. See guinea fowl

3. slang an Italian or a person of Italian descent

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Guinea Cultural  

1. Republic in west Africa, bordered by Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Mali to the north; Ivory Coast to the east; Liberia to the south; and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its capital and largest city is Conarky.

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Discover More

Guinea was once part of the Mali empire.

It became independent of France in 1958.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Guinean
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• guineas
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of guinea

C16: the coin was originally made of gold from Guinea

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

guinea Guinea guineas

Jessica, who now lives in the south of England and fosters guinea pigs when not campaigning, says she will always be affected by her relationship with Coles.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

To investigate, the researchers attached small weights to one leg of young guinea fowl, birds closely related to chickens that walk on two legs like humans.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

In unpacking the new single title, Harper’s Bazaar suggested that maybe modern-day fame is the disease, and Swift the “early guinea pig” who has fought against sexism and re-created her own masters.

From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026

At times, this makes the humble viewer feel a bit like a guinea pig in a focus group; the audience’s reactions are integral to measuring the film’s success.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

The guinea pig set out four copper cups and stuck cinnamon sticks in each, with a splash of milk and sugar.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Chinese companies have also partnered with Rio Tinto to extract iron ore from the Simandou project in Guinea, previously seen as one of the world’s biggest untapped iron-ore deposits.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

In the end he agreed to step down and went into exile Equatorial Guinea.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

PDI owns a mine in Mali and last year began production at a project in Guinea that is still ramping up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

Earhart had already successfully flown from California across South America, Africa and Asia in her Electra twin-engine plane when she arrived in Lae, Papua New Guinea on 2 July 1937.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

These books earned Philomena Guinea, who later told me she had been very stupid at college, millions and millions of dollars.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

The guineas died pretty quickly, and I would discover their bodies and the smell, and move them with a shovel so we could continue working and cleaning.

From Salon ● May 2, 2020

In 1963, a “Snob” pinafore dress cost six guineas – the equivalent of just over £100.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 17, 2019

In 2006 Lady Rothschild paid a then record 4.6 million guineas for a broodmare when purchasing Magical Romance.

From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2019

She won a silver flower basket worth 20 guineas; her runner-up took home a silver mirror and brush set.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 9, 2018

“Pip has earned a premium here,” she said, “and here it is. There are five-and-twenty guineas in this bag. Give it to your master, Pip.”

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

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