Senegal

American  

[sen-i-gawl, -gahl] / ˌsɛn ɪˈgɔl, -ˈgɑl /

noun

1. a republic in western Africa, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean and on the east by Mali. 76,084 square miles (197,057 square kilometers). Dakar.

2. a river in western Africa, flowing northwest from eastern Mali to the Atlantic Ocean at Saint-Louis in Senegal. About 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) long.

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Senegal British  

/ ˌsɛnɪˈɡɔːl /

noun

1. a republic in West Africa, on the Atlantic: made part of French West Africa in 1895; became fully independent in 1960; joined with The Gambia to form the Confederation of Senegambia (1982–89); mostly low-lying, with semidesert in the north and tropical forest in the southwest Official language: French. Religion: Muslim majority. Currency: franc. Capital: Dakar. Pop: 13 300 410 (2013 est). Area: 197 160 sq km (76 124 sq miles)

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Senegal Cultural  

1. Republic in western Africa, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south. Dakar is the capital and largest city.

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Discover More

Senegal was a French colony from 1895 to 1958. It became fully independent in 1960.

Etymology

Origin of Senegal

First recorded in 1750–60; from French Sénégal, named after the Senegal River

Example Sentences

The buzz: With a goal and an assist in the Americans’ penultimate warm-up with Senegal, Christian Pulisic broke out of a career-long scoring drought and proved himself ready for the World Cup.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026

Tony Pulis: Japan might have a good run at it and Norway, Morocco and Senegal are my other outsiders to watch.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

Also invited were the two other declared candidates: Argentina's Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency; and the former president of Senegal, Macky Sall, with the latter sending a short video message.

From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026

Norway was drawn into arguably the most difficult of the 12 World Cup groups, one which includes France, ranked No. 1 in the world by FIFA, No. 14 Senegal, and Iraq.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

My mom asks what they were doing in Senegal, and they say that their dad works for a humanitarian aid company and they were helping out during the summer.

From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya