Taiwan

American

[tahy-wahn] / ˈtaɪˈwɑn /

noun

Wade-Giles, Pinyin.

an island separated from the southeast coast of China by the Taiwan Strait: a possession of Japan 1895–1945; restored to China 1945; seat of the Republic of China since 1949. Taipei.

Taiwan British

/ ˈtaɪˈwɑːn /

noun

Former name: Formosa. an island in SE Asia between the East China Sea and the South China Sea, off the SE coast of the People's Republic of China: the principal territory of the Republic of China; claimed by the People's Republic of China since its political separation from mainland China in the late 1940s. Pop: 23 299 716 (2013 est)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Taiwan Cultural

Island nation in the Pacific Ocean near the mainland of southern China; seat of the Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Taipei.

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With its first free elections in the 1990s, Taiwan has become a democracy. Its economy is among the strongest in the world.

The United States long supported the Nationalists but broke relations in 1979 to establish relations with the People's Republic of China.

China refuses to accept Taiwan's independence as a nation, viewing it instead as merely a renegade province of China. This issue continues to complicate relations between the United States and China.

When the Chinese communists came to power on the mainland, the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek and some of his army took refuge on Taiwan.

Etymology

Origin of Taiwan

First recorded in 1920–25; from Chinese (Mandarin) Táiwān

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

MediaTek shares rose more than 5% in Taiwan trading.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 1, 2026

He dismissed as history the Six Assurances—a 1982 Reagan-era commitment, honored by successive presidents, that the U.S. wouldn’t consult Beijing on arms sales to Taiwan.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026

While Taiwan has its own defence industry, it remains heavily reliant on the United States for weapons to deter a potential attack by China.

From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026

Huang made the announcement on Monday as he delivered a keynote speech ahead of the opening of the Computex technology show in Taipei, Taiwan.

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026

All other Austronesian languages, from those on Madagascar to those on Easter Island, would then stem from a population expansion out of Taiwan.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023