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.

---

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)

---

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.

---

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

In December 2014 nurse Pauline Cafferkey, from Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, fell ill with the disease after arriving back in the UK from Sierra Leone.

From BBC • Jun. 30, 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

"In that time, it spread from Guinea, to Sierra Leone to Liberia, three different countries quickly. The horse had bolted, the fire was raging," he said, adding many health workers were among the victims.

From Barron's • Jun. 25, 2026

The line-up of speakers at the three-day event included the leaders of Barbados, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Namibia and Liberia, alongside Nigerian Nobel literature prize winner and global rights activist Wole Soyinka.

From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026

They told me they were heading for a village called Yele in Bonthe district that they had heard was safe because it was occupied by the Sierra Leone Armed Forces.

From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah