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 peoples of the British Isles, Mr. Robb notes, are joined by geography but divided by history and language into two sovereign states, several little nations and one big one.

From The Wall Street Journal

Low pressure moving in from the south-west on Tuesday will bring a spell of heavy rain and strong winds initially to the western half of the British Isles.

From BBC

The move is part of a wider scheme across the British Isles called the Warm Welcome campaign, which aims to provide local warm spaces.

From BBC

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said on Sunday that the number of insurance checks were being increased, with more than 600 ships stopped while sailing close to the British Isles.

From BBC

Ms. Jackson presents the Jacobean era as an inflection point for the British Isles, encompassing a series of firsts as well as lasts.

From The Wall Street Journal