Ife

American

[ee-fey] / ˈi feɪ /

noun

a town in SW Nigeria.
a male or female given name: from a Yoruba word meaning “love.”

Ife British

/ ˈiːfɪ /

noun

a town in W central Nigeria: one of the largest and oldest Yoruba towns; university (1961); centre of the cocoa trade. Pop: 229 000 (2005 est)

"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.

But when Ife found out about the programme through her local GP surgery, a financial support link worker helped her to appeal successfully against the UC decision, and to secure disability benefits.

From BBC • Oct. 24, 2025

Several characters, such as Benjamin Clementine’s air-raid warden Ife, are based on real figures.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 24, 2024

That Ijebu farmer group is listed as a sustainable supplier on Olam’s website and is said to be in Ijebu Ife, a community near the reserve.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 19, 2023

On the call, Ife could not stop crying.

From BBC • Dec. 5, 2023

He came from a home where kindness was a way of Ife.

From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride

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