British Isles

American  

plural noun

1. a group of islands in W Europe: Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and adjacent small islands. 120,592 sq. mi. (312,300 sq. km).

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British Isles British  

plural noun

1. a group of islands in W Europe, consisting of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Orkney, Shetland, the Channel Islands belonging to Great Britain, and the islands adjacent to these

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British Isles Cultural  

1. The islands of Great Britain and Ireland and a number of smaller islands off their coasts.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

British Isles

It is priority-listed by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, which describes it as "likely the most ancient native cattle in the British Isles".

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

The third-largest Channel Island had some of the best views of the eclipse in the British Isles, despite some cloud cover.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

This means Jersey will be the first place in the British Isles to legalise assisted dying, which means other nations will look closely at what Jersey has done.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

While the Isle of Man's Tynwald became the first parliament in the British Isles to agree a framework for assisted dying in March 2025, it has not yet been granted Royal Assent.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

Then a tinkling sound: it was the sound of the most beautiful girl in the whole of the British Isles laughing with delight and amusement.

From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman