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crown colony
noun
often capitalized both Cs
: a British colony over which the Crown retains some control
Examples of crown colony in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The idea for an arts enclave emerged around 1997, around the same time that the former British crown colony was handed back to China.
—Denny Lee, Travel + Leisure, 1 Aug. 2024
Moya's homeland had once been a crown colony called Southern Rhodesia where, for more than half a century, the white colonial ruling class enriched itself at the expense of the Black majority.
—Hyder Abbasi, NBC News, 14 Sep. 2022
In 1960, Britain ceded control of the crown colony of Cyprus.
—BostonGlobe.com, 16 Aug. 2020
Scholars today believe that the unsigned letter was likely written by John Allan, an influential merchant and politician in Nova Scotia—today, one of Canada’s Maritime Provinces, but then a crown colony.
—John Hanc, Smithsonian, 5 June 2017
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Word History
First Known Use
1828, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near crown colony
Cite this Entry
“Crown colony.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crown%20colony. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
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