cay

American  

[key, kee] / keɪ, ki /

noun

1. a small low island; key.

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cay British  

/ kiː, keɪ /

noun

1. Also called: key.  a small low island or bank composed of sand and coral fragments, esp in the Caribbean area

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cay Scientific  

/ kē,kā /

1. A small, low island composed largely of coral or sand.

2. Also called key

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Etymology

Origin of cay

1700–10; < Spanish cayo; key ²

Example Sentences

From the point of view of the Philippines this, and the fact that Pagasa is solid land, not a partially submerged reef or sandy cay, strengthens its legal claims in the area.

From BBC • May 20, 2025

One person from the missing vessel spent 30 hours in the water before also being washed ashore at Bedwell Island, a small sandy cay within the Clarke Reef coral atoll.

From Reuters • Apr. 19, 2023

What used to be a cay is now a spit of sand encircled by a coral reef.

From Washington Post • Apr. 15, 2022

And rising sea levels and storm surges led to the recent extinction of a rodent species called Bramble Cay melomys, which lived on a remote cay in the northern Great Barrier Reef, the report said.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 28, 2022

There seemed to be no hope of ever leaving the cay, yet I knew I could not always live this way.

From "The Cay" by Theodore Taylor