Samoa

[ suh-moh-uh ]

noun

1. a group of islands in the southern Pacific, the islands west of 170° W longitude constituting an independent state and the rest belonging to the U.S.

Samoa

/ səˈməʊə /

noun

1. an independent state occupying four inhabited islands and five uninhabited islands in the S Pacific archipelago of the Samoa Islands: established as a League of Nations mandate under New Zealand administration in 1920 and a UN trusteeship in 1946; gained independence as Western Samoa in 1962 as the first fully independent Polynesian state; officially changed its name to Samoa in 1997; a member of the Commonwealth. Languages: Samoan and English. Religion: Christian. Currency: tala. Capital: Apia. Pop: 195 476 (2013 est). Area: 2841 sq km (1097 sq miles)
2. Also calledSamoa Islands a group of islands in the S Pacific, northeast of Fiji: an independent kingdom until the mid 19th century, when it was divided administratively into American Samoa (in the east) and German Samoa (in the west); the latter was mandated to New Zealand in 1919 and gained full independence in 1962 as Western Samoa, now called Samoa (as detailed in sense 1). Area: 3038 sq km (1173 sq miles)

Samoa

1. A group of volcanic ( see volcano ) islands in the south Pacific Ocean , approximately midway between Hawaii and Sydney , Australia , making up the independent kingdom of Western Samoa and the United States territory of American Samoa.

Notes

Samoa's tropical climate , mountainous scenery, coral reefs, and Polynesian culture make it a popular tourist destination.

Example Sentences

The prospect of federal health policy resembling Kennedy's meddling in Samoa and Trump's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has scientists and doctors worrying of a looming health disaster under their watch.

From Salon

He's closely linked to a measles outbreak that led to the deaths of more than 80 people in Samoa, most of them children, with his fearmongering about vaccines:

From Salon

The Queen's chest infection came just under a week after returning from a trip to Australia and Samoa with the King.

From BBC

The Queen returned to the UK last Wednesday after a trip with the King to Australia and Samoa, which included a stopover in India on the way back.

From BBC

Vaccination rates dropped from 60-70% to 31% before measles swept through Samoa and killed 83 people, the majority of whom were children, Mother Jones reported.

From Salon