British Isles

American  

plural noun

1. a group of islands in W Europe: Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and adjacent small islands. 120,592 sq. mi. (312,300 sq. km).

---

British Isles British  

plural noun

1. a group of islands in W Europe, consisting of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Orkney, Shetland, the Channel Islands belonging to Great Britain, and the islands adjacent to these

---

British Isles Cultural  

1. The islands of Great Britain and Ireland and a number of smaller islands off their coasts.

---

Example Sentences

Oral traditions linked them to famine, war, and the deaths of kings throughout the British Isles.

From Science Daily • May 13, 2026

Although the comet reached peak brightness on April 22, 1066, it was not visible in Brittany and the British Isles until April 24.

From Science Daily • May 13, 2026

But the British Isles have "astonishing scenery" and "extraordinary animal dramas and wildlife spectacles to match anything I have seen on my global travels", he said.

From BBC • May 8, 2026

While he said he liked "the Manx passport being a bit different", he thought key wording should be clearer for countries outside of the British Isles to understand.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

They were convinced that they could force Britain to abandon the war by disrupting Allied shipping before vessels could reach the British Isles.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman