Soweto

American  

[suh-wee-toh, -wey-] / səˈwi toʊ, -ˈweɪ- /

noun

1. a group of townships in northeastern South Africa, southwest of and administered by Johannesburg: constructed in the 1950s and early 1960s to provide housing and services for Black Africans. 26 sq. mi. (67 sq. km).

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Soweto British  

/ -ˈweɪtəʊ, səˈwɛtəʊ /

noun

1. a contiguous group of Black African townships southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa: the largest purely Black African urban settlement in southern Africa: scene of riots (1976) following protests against the use of Afrikaans in schools for Black African children. Area: 62 sq km (24 sq miles). Pop: 858 649 (2001)

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Soweto Cultural  

1. Collective name for a group of townships inhabited by black Africans, located southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa.

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Discover More

Soweto was the site of severe racial violence before the dismantling of apartheid.

Etymology

Origin of Soweto

C20: from so ( uth ) we ( st ) to ( wnship )

Example Sentences

Fugard once told Mann she took more trips to Soweto in a single month than he did in his entire lifetime.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

Situated on the edge of the iconic Soweto township and chosen as a symbol of post-apartheid "spatial integration", the venue hosts large-scale events such as the ruling African National Congress annual congress.

From Barron's • Nov. 12, 2025

Jazz saxophonist, hip-hop artist, curator and presenter Soweto Kinch will get the Proms under way as it visits Sunderland for the first time.

From BBC • May 28, 2025

In the 1980s, Irvin, a 12-year-old child in Soweto, in apartheid South Africa, drew a foreboding picture.

From Slate • Mar. 15, 2025

Back in Soweto, my mom enrolled in the secretarial course that allowed her to grab hold of the bottom rung of the white-collar world.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah