Jamaica

[juh-mey-kuh]

noun

1. an island in the West Indies, S of Cuba. 4,413 sq. mi. (11,430 sq. km).

2. a republic coextensive with this island: formerly a British colony; became independent in 1962, retaining membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. Kingston.

Jamaica

/ dʒəˈmeɪkə /

noun

1. an island and state in the Caribbean: colonized by the Spanish from 1494 onwards, large numbers of Black slaves being imported; captured by the British in 1655 and established as a colony in 1866; gained full independence in 1962; a member of the Commonwealth. Exports: chiefly bauxite and alumina, sugar, and bananas. Official language: English. Religion: Protestant majority. Currency: Jamaican dollar. Capital: Kingston. Pop: 2 909 714 (2013 est). Area: 10 992 sq km (4244 sq miles)

Jamaica

1. Nation in the West Indies, situated south of Cuba and west of Haiti, in the Caribbean Sea. Its capital and largest city is Kingston.

The country has a high level of poverty.

Tourism is a major industry.

It was the leading world sugar producer in the eighteenth century, when a large slave population grew up around sugar plantations.

A British colony from 1865 to 1962, Jamaica then became completely independent.

Example Sentences

At Rio 2016, Japan won silver in the 4×100 men’s relay, finishing behind only Bolt’s Jamaica.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"If the United States had just deported him to Jamaica in the first place, that would already have been a very difficult and painful adjustment for him and his family," Unger said.

Read more on Barron's

The US had described the five - from Jamaica, Cuba, Laos, Vietnam and Yemen - as "deprived monsters".

Read more on BBC

England's netballers spent a training block there, before autumn series against Jamaica and New Zealand.

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In Jamaica only 20% are reported to have cover, and just half in Barbados.

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