an island in the Indian Ocean, off the E coast of Africa: settled by Persians and Arabs from the 7th century onwards; became a flourishing trading centre for slaves, ivory, and cloves; made a British protectorate in 1890, becoming independent within the Commonwealth in 1963 and a republic in 1964; joined with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. Pop: 622 459 (2002)
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
Zan•zi•bar
(zan′zə bär′, zan′zə bär′),USA pronunciation n.
- Place Namesan island off the E coast of Africa: with Pemba and adjacent small islands it formerly comprised a sultanate under British protection;
became independent in 1963;
now part of Tanzania. 421,000;
640 sq. mi. (1658 sq. km). - Place Namesa seaport on W Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'Zanzibar' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
British East Africa
- Heligoland
- Mogadishu
- Oman
- Pemba
- Swahili
- Tanganyika
- Tanganyika and Zanzibar
- Tanzania
- Zanzibari
- clove