Definition of guinea
1 : an English gold coin issued from 1663 to 1813 and fixed in 1717 at 21 shillings
2 : a unit of value equal to one pound and one shilling
From the M-W Editors
Recent Examples of guinea from the Web
-
An update on the Hires Last week’s profile, featuring cord-cutting guinea pigs Steve and Alice Hire, ended with a bit of a cliffhanger, as the couple had to switch internet providers.
-
Apparently, the carnival industry doesn’t use human guinea pigs to ride attractions over and over to test them.
-
In the past year, animal control has seen several species of pigs, a bald eagle, a large wading bird of some sort — which was like an egret but not — ferrets, guinea pigs, various lizards and an alligator.
-
The guinea pigs step tentatively over the drawbridge and begin to explore.
-
In addition to the Paddington stories, Bond wrote a series of books about a guinea pig named Olga da Polga and a string of novels for adults about a French detective called Monsieur Pamplemousse.
-
Small mammals such as guinea pigs, hamsters, rats and mice love their hidey-holes.
-
At the top: Follow one of the hiking trails starting at the station and explore Table Mountain National Park, watching for lizards and the guinea-pig like dassies in rock crevices.
-
Throughout his career, Bond wrote more than 200 children’s books following a range of adorable characters, including Olga da Polga, a boastful guinea pig full of tall tales.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'guinea.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of guinea
Guinea, Africa, supposed source of the gold from which it was made
Guinea
playDefinition of Guinea
1 region of western Africa bordering on the Atlantic from Gambia (on the north) to Angola (on the south)
2 or formerly French Guinea republic in western Africa bordering on the Atlantic; formerly a territory of French West Africa; capital Conakry area 94,925 square miles (245,856 square kilometers), population 10,629,000
GUINEA Defined for English Language Learners
guinea
playDefinition of guinea for English Language Learners
-
: an old British coin worth 21 shillings
Guinea
playDefinition of Guinea for English Language Learners
-
: country in Africa
-
the Gulf of Guinea : part of the Atlantic Ocean
GUINEA Defined for Kids
Guinea
playDefinition of Guinea for Students
country W Africa N of Sierra Leone & Liberia; capital, Conakry
Learn More about guinea
-
See words that rhyme with guinea Britannica English: Translation of guinea for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about guinea
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up guinea? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!