Nicaragua

[nik-uh-rah-gwuh]

noun

1. a republic in Central America. 57,143 sq. mi. (148,000 sq. km). Managua.

2. Spanish Lago de Nicaragua. Lake. a lake in SW Nicaragua. 92 miles (148 km) long; 34 miles (55 km) wide; 3,060 sq. mi. (7,925 sq. km).

Nicaragua

/ nikaˈraɣwa, ˌnɪkəˈræɡjʊə, -ɡwə /

noun

1. a republic in Central America, on the Caribbean and the Pacific: colonized by the Spanish from the 1520s; gained independence in 1821 and was annexed by Mexico, becoming a republic in 1838. Official language: Spanish. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: córdoba. Capital: Managua. Pop: 5 788 531 (2013 est). Area: 131 812 sq km (50 893 sq miles)

2. a lake in SW Nicaragua, separated from the Pacific by an isthmus 19 km (12 miles) wide: the largest lake in Central America. Area: 8264 sq km (3191 sq miles)

Nicaragua

1. Republic in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the northwest and north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Its capital and largest city is Managua.

After fifty years of guerrilla warfare, the Marxist Sandinistas launched a civil war and assumed power in 1979.

General Anastasio Somoza established a military dictatorship in 1933. He was assassinated in 1956, but his sons continued the Somoza regime until 1979.

During the 1980s, the United States backed anti-Sandinista guerrillas called Contras (see Iran-Contra Affair). In 1990, the Sandinistas were defeated in free elections. In 1995, and again in 2001, opponents of the Sandinistas won elections to the nation's presidency.

Other Word Forms

• Nicaraguan noun

Example Sentences

Significantly, there will be no representatives at this week’s event from Venezuela, Nicaragua or Cuba, countries with leftist leaders who have taken hard authoritarian turns.

From Los Angeles Times

That puts El Salvador in the company of other authoritarian Latin American nations, including Nicaragua and Venezuela, where dissent has been criminalized and critics choose between prison and exile.

From Los Angeles Times

From Nicaragua, the girls have been asking to get their dog back.

From Los Angeles Times

We were discussing logistics for an upcoming demonstration against the Reagan administration’s support for the Contras fighting the elected government of Nicaragua.

From Salon

Solis, whose mother immigrated from Nicaragua and her father from Mexico, said she’s “never felt so under siege.”

From Los Angeles Times