archipelago

American  

[ahr-kuh-pel-uh-goh] / ˌɑr kəˈpɛl əˌgoʊ /

noun

plural

archipelagos, archipelagoes

1. a large group or chain of islands.

   the Malay Archipelago.

2. any large body of water with many islands.

3. the Archipelago, the Aegean Sea.

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archipelago British  

/ ˌɑːkɪpəˈleɪdʒɪən, ˌɑːkɪˈpɛlɪˌɡəʊ, ˌɑːkɪpəˈlædʒɪk /

noun

1. a group of islands

2. a sea studded with islands

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archipelago Scientific  

/ är′kə-pĕl′ə-gō′ /

1. A large group of islands.

2. A sea, such as the Aegean, or an area in a sea containing a large number of scattered islands.

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archipelago Cultural  

1. A group of islands near one another.

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Other Word Forms

• archipelagian adjective
• archipelagic adjective

Etymology

Origin of archipelago

1495–1505; alteration ( archi- for arci- ) of Italian arcipelago, alteration of Egeopelago the Aegean Sea < Greek Aigaîon pélagos

Example Sentences

In a phone call with Lammy last December, Muizzu warned the deputy UK prime minister that "any transfer of the archipelago must account for Maldivian interests".

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026

Garin said earlier this week that the archipelago nation also planned to boost the output of its coal-fired power plants to keep electricity costs down as the war wreaks havoc with gas shipments.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

Heavy rains continued to fall on the archipelago in the early hours of Saturday morning.

From BBC • Mar. 21, 2026

After spending much of her career in the U.S., she recently moved back to Åland, a Finnish archipelago of more than 6,000 islands—and began hosting art workshops.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

An island of the archipelago in the South Atlantic between North and South America, enclosing the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico: divided into the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the Bahama Islands.

From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison

Related Words

• enclave
• isle
• islet
• peninsula
• reef