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

The updated analysis confirmed that humans were present in the British Isles between 15,200 and 15,000 years ago.

From Science Daily • May 13, 2026

Oral traditions linked them to famine, war, and the deaths of kings throughout the British Isles.

From Science Daily • May 13, 2026

The hoard was one of the biggest treasure finds in the history of the British Isles, worth £3m.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

The three sites on the Isle of Man form part of the Temperate Rainforest Restoration Programme, which looks to restore woodland areas across large swathes of the British Isles, Ireland and the Isle of Man.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

For all Ann knows she's the only person alive in the British Isles.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell