Jan Mayen

American  

[yahn mahy-uhn] / ˈyɑn ˈmaɪ ən /

noun

1. a volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean between Greenland and Norway: a possession of Norway. 144 sq. mi. (373 sq. km).

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Jan Mayen British  

/ ˈjæn ˈmaɪən /

noun

1. an island in the Arctic Ocean, between Greenland and N Norway: volcanic, with large glaciers; former site of Dutch whaling stations; annexed to Norway in 1929. Area: 373 sq km (144 sq miles)

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Example Sentences

Last month Greenpeace welcomed the decision of the Norwegian government to stop the first round of licencing for deep sea mining in Arctic waters between Norway's Svalbard and Jan Mayen islands.

From BBC • Jan. 5, 2025

The eight scientists aboard a sealing boat off the island of Jan Mayen, 640 miles west of Norway, peered through their binoculars last week and were elated.

From Time Magazine Archive

Last week, as Papanin's floe drifted toward Jan Mayen Island, jungle-bearded Professor Schmidt prepared to lead a rescue party.

From Time Magazine Archive

We were now in the latitude of Jan Mayen; the tall mountain cone of that strange island we could distinctly see, raised like an immense shining sugar-loaf against the sky’s blue.

From In Touch with Nature Tales and Sketches from the Life by Stables, Gordon

According to his survey and observations, Jan Mayen is about sixteen miles long, by four wide; but I hope soon, on my own authority, to be able to tell you more about it.

From Letters from High Latitudes by Dufferin, Lord