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Namibia

American  
[nuh-mib-ee-uh] / nəˈmɪb i ə /

noun

  1. a republic in southwestern Africa: a former German protectorate; a mandate of South Africa 1920–66; gained independence 1990. 318,261 sq. mi. (824,296 sq. km). Windhoek.

Namibia British  
/ nɑːˈmɪbɪə, nə- /

noun

  1. Former name (1885–1919): German Southwest Africa.  Also called: South West Africa.  a country in southern Africa bordering on South Africa: annexed by Germany in 1884 and mandated by the League of Nations to South Africa in 1920. The mandate was terminated by the UN in 1966 but this was ignored by South Africa, as was the 1971 ruling by the International Court of Justice that the territory be surrendered. Independence was achieved in 1990 and Namibia became a member of the Commonwealth; Walvis Bay remained a South African enclave until 1994, when it was returned to Namibia. Official language: English; Afrikaans and German also spoken. Religion: mostly animist, with some Christians. Currency: dollar. Capital: Windhoek. Pop: 2 182 852 (2013 est). Area: 823 328 sq km (317 887 sq miles)

"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
Namibia Cultural  

  1. Country in southwestern Africa, bordered by Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east, South Africa to the south and southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west; formerly called South West Africa.

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In 1920, South Africa began administering South West Africa under authority of the League of Nations, and in 1971, it rejected the demands of the General Assembly of the United Nations that it withdraw. A nationalist group, the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), waged guerrilla warfare in an attempt to force South Africa out of Namibia. A U.S.-mediated settlement ended the civil war in 1988. In 1990, Namibia became an independent nation.

Other Word Forms

  • Namibian adjective

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.

Namibia said Monday it had rejected a request for billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink to operate its satellite internet services in the country, dealing the company a second setback in southern Africa.

From Barron's • Mar. 23, 2026

"The south is where you have a co-location of fantastic wind and solar resources. Namibia has to compete with other projects globally and that's where your competitive advantage lies," she told me.

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026

He was dropped before the first match after a run of 10 T20s without a fifty but was recalled for the group-stage match against Namibia with Rinku Singh absent following the death of his father.

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

Mr. Herzog, who with his intensely dramatic yet dryly matter-of-fact vocal stylings lends the feature his typically scintillating narration, follows him on a journey to Namibia and Angola in search of the ghost elephants.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026

Could such geniuses have equally well been born in Tasmania or Namibia?

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.