British West Indies

American  

plural noun

1. a term formerly used for the possessions of Great Britain in the West Indies.

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British West Indies British  

plural noun

1. a former name for the states in the Caribbean that are members of the Commonwealth: the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; along with the islands which remain as United Kingdom dependencies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the British Virgin Islands

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Example Sentences

Hamilton was born out of wedlock on the island of Nevis in the British West Indies.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 8, 2025

John Gladstone - the father of William Gladstone, one of the UK's most revered prime ministers - was one of the largest slave owners in the British West Indies.

From BBC • Aug. 25, 2023

Sylvie Wigglesworth, principal of British West Indies Collegiate, said she was waiting out the storm at home because her mother has Alzheimer’s and the local shelters wouldn’t take her dog.

From The Guardian • Sep. 21, 2017

In Anguilla, part of the British West Indies, Irma’s fury left homes and businesses shattered across the 16-mile island.

From Washington Post • Sep. 8, 2017

Louise Little, my mother, who was bom in Grenada, in the British West Indies, looked like a white woman.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey