banana republic
banana republic noun: a small country, especially one in Central America or the West Indies, that is dependent on a single export commodity (traditionally bananas) and that has a corrupt, dictatorial government.
Noun
banana republic (plural banana republics)
- A small country, especially one in Central America or the West Indies, that is dependent on a single export commodity (traditionally bananas) and that has a corrupt, dictatorial government.
- At that time we had a treaty with about every foreign country except Belgium, and that banana republic, Anchuria.1901 May, O. Henry, “Money Maze”, in Ainslee's Magazine, volume vii, number 4, New York, page 305
- The banana workers of this former banana republic were exceptionally well organized and effective in their demands from the very beginning of the revolution.2001, Cindy Forster, The Time of Freedom: Campesino Workers in Guatemala's October Revolution, University of Pittsburgh Press, →ISBN, page 117
banana republic meaning in Hindi, Urdu, Arabic and Malay
banana republic in Hindi
- country
- बनाना रिपब्लिक banānā ripablik, केला गणतंत्र kelā gaṇtantra
banana republic in Urdu
- country
- جَمْہُورِیَہ کیلا jamhūriya kelā, بَنانا رِپَبْلِک banānā ripablik
banana republic in Arabic
- country
- جُمْهُورِيَّةُ الْمَوْزِ jumhūriyyatu l-mawzi
banana republic in Malay
- country
- republik pisang
More languagesFewer languages
- banana republic in Indonesian
- republik pisang
- banana republic in Thai
- สาธารณรัฐกล้วย sǎa-taa-rá-ná-rát-glûai
- banana republic in Vietnamese
- cộng hoà chuối
Forms of banana republic
| plural | banana republics |
|---|
Origin of banana republic
Coined by American author O. Henry in 1901 in his short story Money Maze, set in the fictional "Anchuria", which was based on his 1896–97 stay in Honduras.
Questions about banana republic
- What does banana republic mean?
- Banana republic means a small country, especially one in Central America or the West Indies, that is dependent on a single export commodity (traditionally bananas) and that has a corrupt, dictatorial government.
- What is banana republic in Hindi?
- Banana republic in Hindi is बनाना रिपब्लिक (banānā ripablik), केला गणतंत्र (kelā gaṇtantra). See Banana republic meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is banana republic?
- Banana republic is a noun.
- What is the plural of banana republic?
- The plural of banana republic is banana republics.
Words near banana republic in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: banana republic (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-banana republic.ogg.
Cite this entry: “banana republic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/banana_republic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.