Cook Islands

American  

plural noun

1. a group of islands in the South Pacific belonging to New Zealand. 99 square miles (256 square kilometers).

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Cook Islands British  

plural noun

1. a group of islands in the SW Pacific, an overseas territory of New Zealand: consists of the Lower Cooks and the Northern Cooks Capital: Avarua, on Rarotonga. Pop: 10 447 (2013 est). Area: 234 sq km (90 sq miles)

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Etymology

Origin of Cook Islands

First recorded in 1875–80 as Cook's Islands; named after Captain James Cook

Example Sentences

Places such as the Cook Islands are doing everything they can to play the two sides off against one another.

From The Wall Street Journal

Beijing promptly whisked Cook Islands leaders off to China to show off its mining technology, while also offering training and scholarships for Cook Islands students to study in China.

From The Wall Street Journal

U.S. and Cook Islands government news releases showed him in a suit picking at pieces of pineapple and papaya as he sat opposite a group of diplomats in Hawaiian-style shirts.

From The Wall Street Journal

For the Cook Islands, it could be a game-changer.

From The Wall Street Journal

Cook Islands officials believe that royalties from offshore mining could help pay for better hospitals and schools, in effect doing for the islands what oil has done for Norway.

From The Wall Street Journal