Jamaica

American  

[juh-mey-kuh] / dʒəˈmeɪ kə /

noun

1. an island in the West Indies, S of Cuba. 4,413 sq. mi. (11,430 sq. km).

2. a republic coextensive with this island: formerly a British colony; became independent in 1962, retaining membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. Kingston.

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Jamaica British  

/ dʒəˈmeɪkə /

noun

1. an island and state in the Caribbean: colonized by the Spanish from 1494 onwards, large numbers of Black slaves being imported; captured by the British in 1655 and established as a colony in 1866; gained full independence in 1962; a member of the Commonwealth. Exports: chiefly bauxite and alumina, sugar, and bananas. Official language: English. Religion: Protestant majority. Currency: Jamaican dollar. Capital: Kingston. Pop: 2 909 714 (2013 est). Area: 10 992 sq km (4244 sq miles)

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Jamaica Cultural  

1. Nation in the West Indies, situated south of Cuba and west of Haiti, in the Caribbean Sea. Its capital and largest city is Kingston.

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Discover More

The country has a high level of poverty.

Tourism is a major industry.

It was the leading world sugar producer in the eighteenth century, when a large slave population grew up around sugar plantations.

A British colony from 1865 to 1962, Jamaica then became completely independent.

Example Sentences

Another traveler, departing for Jamaica at 6 a.m., offered one word to describe her experience: terrible.

From Slate • Mar. 26, 2026

He said he always had an entrepreneurial flair, selling bubblegum and popcorn from his Samsonite briefcase at Jamaica High School.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

The teams will meet in the second and deciding leg of the two-game playoff March 19 at National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

He returned to competitive action with the Jamaica national team with three substitute appearances in June - his only football since the crash.

From BBC • Feb. 28, 2026

It’s a thing you sort of have to discuss in New York, because everybody’s family is from somewhere that ain’t America, like Jamaica, or Haiti, or Trinidad, which is where her grandma was from.

From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds