Swahili
noun
Swa·hi·li
swä-ˈhē-lē 
plural Swahili or Swahilis
1
: a member of a Bantu-speaking people of Zanzibar and the adjacent coast
2
: a Bantu language that is a trade and governmental language over much of East Africa and in the Congo region
Examples of Swahili in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Climate change threatens Africa's Swahili Coast and 66 historic lighthouses on the coast of Maine.
—
Neda Ulaby, NPR, 15 Jan. 2025
After all, who cares about Swahili other than maybe five million native speakers?
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 8 Jan. 2025
People who speak Swahili come from many African countries, including Democratic Republic of the Congo.
—Carolyn Komatsoulis, Idaho Statesman, 8 Jan. 2025
Subsequent research has found large olfactory lexicons in at least forty other languages, among them Fang, Khmer, Swahili, and Zapotec.
—Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
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Neda Ulaby, NPR, 15 Jan. 2025
After all, who cares about Swahili other than maybe five million native speakers?
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 8 Jan. 2025
People who speak Swahili come from many African countries, including Democratic Republic of the Congo.
—Carolyn Komatsoulis, Idaho Statesman, 8 Jan. 2025
Subsequent research has found large olfactory lexicons in at least forty other languages, among them Fang, Khmer, Swahili, and Zapotec.
—Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for Swahili
Dictionary Entries Near Swahili
Cite this Entry
“Swahili.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Swahili. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Swahili
noun
Swa·hi·li
swä-ˈhē-lē
plural Swahili or Swahilis
1
: a member of a Bantu-speaking people of Zanzibar and the adjacent coast of Africa
2
: a Bantu language that is a trade and governmental language over much of East Africa and in the Congo region
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