Christmas Island

American  

noun

1. an Australian island in the Indian Ocean, about 190 miles (300 km) S of Java. 52 sq. mi. (135 sq. km).

2. one of the Line Islands, in Kiribati (Gilbert Islands), in the central Pacific; sovereignty disputed by U.S.: largest atoll in the Pacific; former U.S. test center for nuclear warheads. About 220 sq. mi. (575 sq. km).

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Christmas Island British  

noun

1. the former name (until 1981) of Kiritimati

2. an island in the Indian Ocean, south of Java: administered by Singapore (1900–58), now by Australia; phosphate mining. Pop: 1496 (2013 est). Area: 135 sq km (52 sq miles)

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Example Sentences

Furthermore, the LabEmbryoCam accompanied researchers from the University on an expedition to Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, to support groundbreaking research on the early life stages of the Christmas Island red crab.

From Science Daily • Dec. 6, 2024

Most of the applicants involved in the class action suit were detained on Christmas Island or in Darwin between 2009 and 2012, after arriving in Australia on people-smuggling boats.

From BBC • Oct. 5, 2023

The researchers used baited traps to lure the morays to the surface of inland caves that connect to the ocean on Australia’s Christmas Island and the Philippines’s Panglao Island.

From Science Magazine • May 18, 2023

Supercolonies of these frenetic insects spray an acid to subdue prey — perhaps most notably, decimating red land crabs on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.

From Washington Post • Apr. 6, 2023

This was Great Britain’s announcement that it would test its first thermonuclear device over Christmas Island that spring.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik