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 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

Jersey, which is part of the British Isles, but sets its own laws also has its own bill.

From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026

The other two starters are Vodka Vodka, whose lone stakes win came in a turf race restricted to California-bred horses, and British Isles, who has never won a stakes race.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

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

From Science Daily • Feb. 21, 2026

Tonight most of the British Isles will see temperatures plunging well below zero.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell