Rhodesia

American  

[roh-dee-zhuh] / roʊˈdi ʒə /

noun

1. (asSouthern Rhodesia ) a former British colony in southern Africa: declared independence 1965; name changed to Zimbabwe 1979.

2. a historical region in southern Africa that comprised the British territories of Northern Rhodesia (nowZambia ) and Southern Rhodesia (nowZimbabwe ).

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Rhodesia British  

/ rəʊˈdiːʃə, -zɪə /

noun

1. a former name (1964–79) for Zimbabwe

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Rhodesia Cultural  

1. Former name of Zimbabwe, a nation in southeastern Africa.

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Discover More

Rhodesia was named for Cecil Rhodes, the English industrialist whose British South Africa Company colonized the region at the end of the nineteenth century. He also founded the Rhodes Scholarships for study at Oxford University.

Other Word Forms

• Rhodesian
  adjective

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Rhodesia

Rhodesia became Zimbabwe in 1980, and Swaziland Eswatini in 2018.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026

The 75-year-old was born in Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, and made Edinburgh his home after studying there.

From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2023

In the 1970s, Beijing built the Tazara Railway from landlocked Zambia to Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam port, allowing copper exports to circumvent white-minority-ruled Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 31, 2023

In the 1970s, Beijing built the Tazara Railway from landlocked Zambia to Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam port, allowing copper exports to circumvent white-minority ruled Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 30, 2023

Within a few minutes, we were all singing the song “Stimela,” a rousing anthem about a train making its way down from Southern Rhodesia.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela