Niger
Americannoun
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a republic in NW Africa: formerly part of French West Africa. 458,976 sq. mi. (1,188,748 sq. km). Niamey.
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a river in W Africa, rising in S Guinea, flowing NE through Mali, and then SE through Nigeria into the Gulf of Guinea. 2,600 miles (4,185 km) long.
noun
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a landlocked republic in West Africa: important since earliest times for its trans-Saharan trade routes; made a French colony in 1922 and became fully independent in 1960; exports peanuts and livestock. Official language: French. Religion: Muslim majority. Currency: franc. Capital: Niamey. Pop: 16 899 327 (2013 est). Area: 1 267 000 sq km (489 000 sq miles)
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a river in West Africa, rising in S Guinea and flowing in a great northward curve through Mali, then southwest through Niger and Nigeria to the Gulf of Guinea: the third longest river in Africa, with the largest delta, covering an area of 36 260 sq km (14 000 sq miles). Length: 4184 km (2600 miles)
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a state of W central Nigeria. Capital: Minna. Pop: 3 950 249 (2006). Area: 76 363 sq km (29 476 sq miles)
Discover More
Niger was under French control from the 1880s to 1960, when it gained full independence.
Other Word Forms
- Nigerien adjective
- trans-Niger adjective
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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.
Deep in the desert of Niger, scientists have unearthed an unknown species of dinosaur, a giant fissvery of its kind in more than a century.
From Barron's
Madagascar is the latest of several former French colonies in Africa to come under military control since 2020, after coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger and other nations.
From Barron's
A newly published study in Science announces the discovery of Spinosaurus mirabilis, a previously unknown species of spinosaurid dinosaur uncovered in Niger.
From Science Daily
Police allege that he could have carried out assaults not only in France, but also Germany, Switzerland, Morocco, Niger, Algeria, the Philippines, India, Colombia, and the French overseas territory of New Caledonia.
From BBC
Niger is plagued by jihadist violence in the western Tillaberi region, a flashpoint zone where the country's borders meet those of its allies Burkina Faso and Mali.
From Barron's
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.
