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

On Monday, the price of unleaded fuel in Alderney was £2.30 per litre, and diesel was £2.58, making it one of the most expensive places to buy petrol in the British Isles.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

“This race kind of fell apart a little bit with a couple scratches,” British Isles trainer Richard Baltas said, “but there were still some nice horses in there and he did it with authority.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 7, 2026

In any event, it is open to those in the UK with enough money to pay for an assisted death at Dignitas in Zurich, which has no scrutiny from any politicians in the British Isles.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026

They examined how common the C282Y variant was in 29 regions across the British Isles and Ireland.

From Science Daily • Feb. 21, 2026

As he galloped across the British Isles with the helicopters thundering above him, people stood and gaped and wondered what on earth was going on.

From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl