Lagos

American

[lah-gohs, ley-gos] / ˈlɑ goʊs, ˈleɪ gɒs /

noun

a seaport in SW Nigeria: former capital.

Lagos British

/ ˈleɪɡɒs /

noun

the former capital and chief port of Nigeria, on the Bight of Benin: first settled in the sixteenth century; a slave market until the nineteenth century; ceded to Britain (1861); university (1962). Pop: 11 135 000 (2005 est)
a state of SW Nigeria. Capital: Ikeja. Pop: 9 013 534 (2006). Area: 3345 sq km (1292 sq miles)

"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

Lagos Cultural

Capital of Nigeria and largest city in the country, located in the southwest corner of Nigeria on the Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean; Nigeria's economic center and chief port.

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.

Opeyemi Ademola, 28, a project manager in Lagos, has a disability which is not visible.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

Lagos is already prepared to delay the City Section Cheer championships scheduled for April 18.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

“We don’t panic. We have contingency plans,” Lagos said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

Elaborate costumes, blaring music and vibrant processions took over Nigeria's Lagos Island on Monday as the annual Fanti Carnival hit the streets.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

But Ifemelu was full of sanguine expectations for The Small Redemptions of Lagos, with a dreamy photograph of an abandoned colonial house on its masthead.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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