New Guinea

American  

noun

1. a large island N of Australia, politically divided into the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya (West Irian) and the independent country of Papua New Guinea. About 316,000 sq. mi. (818,000 sq. km).

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New Guinea British  

noun

1. an island in the W Pacific, north of Australia: divided politically into Papua (formerly Irian Jaya, a province of Indonesia) in the west and Papua New Guinea in the east. There is a central chain of mountains and a lowland area of swamps in the south and along the Sepik River in the north. Area: 775 213 sq km (299 310 sq miles)

2. (until 1975) an administrative division of the former Territory of Papua and New Guinea, consisting of the NE part of the island of New Guinea together with the Bismarck Archipelago; now part of Papua New Guinea

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New Guinea Cultural  

1. Island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, north of Australia. The western half of the island is administered by Indonesia.

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New Guinea is the world's second-largest island, after Greenland.

It was named for its resemblance to the Guinea coast of western Africa.

Other Word Forms

• New Guinean
  adjective

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

New Guinea

Whatever happens at this World Cup, rugby league shows no signs of losing its appeal in Papua New Guinea.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

England face Tonga in Perth on Saturday, before taking on France in the same city on 24 October and then Papua New Guinea in Wollongong on 30 October.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Speaking on the sidelines of the summit, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape told journalists Wednesday it was an issue of "morality".

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

The Dutch paint company said the agreements with Nippon Paint encompass its decorative paints business in seven countries: Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and Australia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Thus, as in New Guinea, the limitations on indigenous food production in the eastern United States were not due to Native American peoples themselves, but instead depended entirely on the American biota and environment.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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