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

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

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

From Science Daily • May 13, 2026

The three sites on the Isle of Man form part of the Temperate Rainforest Restoration Programme, which looks to restore woodland areas across large swathes of the British Isles, Ireland and the Isle of Man.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

Jersey, which is part of the British Isles, but sets its own laws also has its own bill.

From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026

Around 300, an explorer named Pytheas sailed a ship through the Straits of Gibraltar, turned north, and circumnavigated the British Isles.

From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro