Sierra Leone

American  

[lee-oh-nee, lee-ohn] / liˈoʊ ni, liˈoʊn /

noun

1. an independent republic in W Africa: member of the Commonwealth of Nations; formerly a British colony and protectorate. 27,925 sq. mi. (72,326 sq. km). Freetown.

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Sierra Leone British  

/ sɪˈɛərə lɪˈəʊnɪ, lɪˈəʊn /

noun

1. a republic in W Africa, on the Atlantic: became a British colony in 1808 and gained independence (within the Commonwealth) in 1961; declared a republic in 1971; became a one-party state in 1978; multiparty democracy restored in 1991 but military rule was imposed following a coup in 1992, which led to civil unrest; consists of coastal swamps rising to a plateau in the east. Official language: English. Religion: Muslim majority and animist. Currency: leone. Capital: Freetown. Pop: 5 612 685 (2013 est). Area: 71 740 sq km (27 699 sq miles)

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Sierra Leone Cultural  

1. Republic in western Africa, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea to the north and east, and Liberia to the south. Freetown is its capital and largest city.

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Discover More

After the American Revolutionary War, attempts were made to settle freed slaves in Sierra Leone. Formerly a British protectorate, Sierra Leone became independent in 1961.

Other Word Forms

• Sierra Leonean noun

Example Sentences

The son of parents who fled Sierra Leone's civil war in the 1990s, Tiafoe used to sleep on the floor at a plush Maryland tennis centre where his father was a janitor.

From BBC

So last August Musa, travelled to Makeni, in central Sierra Leone, in a bid to find them.

From BBC

The administration also moved Laos and Sierra Leone, which were previously subject to partial restrictions, to the full ban list, and put partial restrictions on 15 other countries, including Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

From BBC

The list included Syrian citizens, as well as Palestinian Authority passport holders, and nationals of some of Africa's poorest countries, including also Niger, Sierra Leone and South Sudan.

From Barron's

And he practiced traditional West African carpentry techniques while serving in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone.

From The Wall Street Journal