Saipan

American  

[sahy-pan] / saɪˈpæn /

noun

1. an island in and the capital of the North Mariana Islands in the N Pacific, about 1,350 miles (2,173 km) S of Japan: taken by U.S. forces June–July 1944. 71 sq. mi. (184 sq. km).

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Saipan British  

/ saɪˈpæn /

noun

1. an island in the W Pacific, administrative centre of the US associated territory of the Northern Mariana Islands (on Capitol Hill); captured by the Americans and used as an air base until the end of World War II. Pop: 62 392 (2000). Area: 180 sq km (70 sq miles)

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Example Sentences

Going into Everton's match against Leeds on Monday, he was on 70 points, with his guest, Saipan star Éanna Hardwicke, on 40 points and the BBC readers and AI on 30 apiece.

From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026

People who believe the Japanese captured and killed the aviators have pointed to everything from a generator retrieved in a Saipan harbor in 1960 to a photograph on a Jaluit dock revealed in 2017.

From National Geographic • Jan. 30, 2024

When Guam capitulated two days later, the Japanese administered the island with the help of Chamorro translators from Saipan and a neighboring island called Rota.

From New York Times • Jul. 7, 2023

Military records show he was lost at sea off Saipan in March 1945.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2023

Saipan was fourteen miles long and five miles wide.

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac