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

See Examples For:

Sierra Leone

Peter Bai James, a health worker who served on the front lines in Sierra Leone during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak, calls it an epidemiological paradox.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Sierra Leone did not respond to the BBC's requests for comment.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

British abolitionists had founded Sierra Leone, a colony of freed slaves in West Africa, but Jefferson thought it was too distant.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

It found that "Sierra Leone failed to take adequate measures to prevent and eliminate child marriage and to effectively protect the minor in the case and other girls from the practice".

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

Those advocating an African solution might profitably study the recent English efforts to establish a black colony in Sierra Leone, where most of the freed blacks died or were enslaved by the local African tribes.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis