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

Speaking in French, Swahili and Kinyarwanda — the language of Rwanda and of many Congolese Hutu and Tutsi — the leaders vowed to march on Kinshasa. —Emmet Livingstone, The Dial, 20 Mar. 2025

These bungalows offer guests the chance to experience one of the last untouched land and sea sanctuaries on the Swahili Coast. —Andi Cross, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025

Spanish To Swedish, Serbian To Swahili Developers can use natural language in a variety of languages (yes, don’t panic, Lithuanian, Swahili and more are supported) in Gemini Code Assist to generate, explain and improve code. —Adrian Bridgwater, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025

Stepping into it tells the story of centuries of trade, conquest, and resilience on the Swahili Coast. —Emese MacZko, Forbes, 18 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Arabic sawāḥil, plural of sāḥil coast

First Known Use

1814, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for Swahili

• ideally
• lapilli
• freely
• keeley
• mealy
• seely
• steely
• vilely
• intraperitoneally
• kiswahili

Kids 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