zaire
1 Americannoun
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zaire
plural
noun
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Republic of Zaire, a former name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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official name within the Democratic Republic of the Congo of the Congo River (the term Congo River is more widely used elsewhere).
noun
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the former name (1971–97) of the Democratic Republic of Congo
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(formerly) the Zaïrian name (1971–97) for the (River) Congo
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
A vessel took us to Cayenne, where we secured a passage on board one of the steamers of the French Transatlantic Aspinwall line, the Ville de St. Na- zaire, which conveyed us to Europe.
From The Survivors of the Chancellor by Jules Verne
Approved vaccines are only effective against the Zaire strain, which is responsible for the largest-known Ebola outbreak to date.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
He was only booked and Zaire lost 3-0; they were allowed home but President Mobutu cut their funding.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
The Democratic Republic of Congo stymied Portugal in its first visit to the tournament since appearing as Zaire in 1974.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Vaccines targeting Zaire ebolavirus have proven highly effective, and two antiviral treatments have reduced mortality rates from 50% to 35%.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 22, 2026
For that matter you can’t even go to the Congo; it’s Zaire.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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The Ervebo vaccine does help protect against the Zaïre species of Ebola but currently there are no proven vaccines or treatments for Bundibugyo.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
The limited testing that was available in the province was testing for the Zaïre strain and not coming up positive.
From BBC ● May 19, 2026
THE BUILDUP: Foreman and Ali spent much of the middle of 1974 training in Zaïre, getting acclimated to its tropical climate.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 4, 2016
Finally Ali reclaimed his crown in Kinshasa, Zaïre.
From Time Magazine Archive
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I saw at once that if I was not careful I should provoke laughter, and instantly imagined that I would pretend to believe the clinging drapery was the wounded Zaïre grasping me behind.
From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 15, No. 85, January, 1875 by Various
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