Definition of: Samoa

(sə·mō′ə)
An island group in the SW Pacific; 1,209 square miles; formerly Navigators' Islands; divided by the 171st meridian into: (1) American (or Eastern) Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States, comprising Tutuila, Rose, Swains, and Manua; 76 square miles; capital, Pago Pago, on Tutuila. (2) Western Samoa, a former trusteeship administered by New Zealand, independent 1962, and comprising Savaii, Upolu, and several smaller islands; 1,133 square miles; capital, Apia, on Upolu.