Cook Islands

American  

plural noun

1. a group of islands in the South Pacific belonging to New Zealand. 99 square miles (256 square kilometers).

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Cook Islands British  

plural noun

1. a group of islands in the SW Pacific, an overseas territory of New Zealand: consists of the Lower Cooks and the Northern Cooks Capital: Avarua, on Rarotonga. Pop: 10 447 (2013 est). Area: 234 sq km (90 sq miles)

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Etymology

Origin of Cook Islands

First recorded in 1875–80 as Cook's Islands; named after Captain James Cook

Example Sentences

Pasifika heritage encompasses the indigenous peoples of Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia, with Upper Hutt-born Rennie having Cook Islands links through his mother.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

Cook Islands officials believe that royalties from offshore mining could help pay for better hospitals and schools, in effect doing for the islands what oil has done for Norway.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025

U.S. and Cook Islands government news releases showed him in a suit picking at pieces of pineapple and papaya as he sat opposite a group of diplomats in Hawaiian-style shirts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025

Nestled next to a pizza shop in the far-flung Cook Islands is the modest headquarters of one of the fastest-growing shipping registries in the world.

From Barron's • Dec. 2, 2025

Niue:   Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic   differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest   of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered.

From The 2001 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency