Tahiti

American  

[tuh-hee-tee, tah-] / təˈhi ti, tɑ- /

noun

1. the principal island of the Society Islands, in the southern Pacific. 402 sq. mi. (1,041 sq. km). Papeete.

---

Tahiti British  

/ təˈhiːtɪ /

noun

1. an island in the S Pacific, in the Windward group of the Society Islands: the largest and most important island in French Polynesia; became a French protectorate in 1842 and a colony in 1880. Capital: Papeete. Pop: 169 674 (2002). Area: 1005 sq km (388 sq miles)

---

Tahiti Cultural  

1. Largest island of French Polynesia, located in the south Pacific Ocean.

---

Discover More

Attracted by the Polynesian culture and spectacular climate and scenery, both Paul Gauguin and Robert Louis Stevenson lived in Tahiti and expressed its romantic allure through their works.

Example Sentences

Later that day, a lady from Tahiti ran up to me in Central Park and exclaimed: “I didn’t realize Harrison Ford was so young!”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025

To reconstruct past rainfall, researchers collected sediment cores from Tahiti and Nuku Hiva in Eastern Polynesia and examined plant waxes -- fatty layers left on leaves.

From Science Daily • Dec. 15, 2025

French Polynesia comprises more than 100 islands, including Tahiti.

From Barron's • Nov. 27, 2025

Who’s a newsletter got to bribe to get citizenship in Tahiti?

From Slate • Sep. 13, 2025

Native states in contact with European states have arisen from chiefdoms repeatedly in the last three centuries in Madagascar, Hawaii, Tahiti, and many parts of Africa.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond