state of Malaysia, occupying NE Borneo & several offshore islands, including Labuan: formerly, until 1963, a British colony (called North Borneo): 28,460 sq mi (73,711 sq km); pop. 1,737,000; cap. Kota Kinabalu
See Sabah in American Heritage Dictionary 4
A region of Malaysia in northeast Borneo. Sabah was a British protectorate, originally controlled by the British North Borneo Company, from the early 1800s until it became part of Malaysia in 1963.