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

At the IMO, the Cook Islands pressed Iran to confirm reported evidence that "there is a nascent ships registration system being set up for approved vessels to make safe passage through the Strait" of Hormuz.

From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026

Pasifika heritage encompasses the indigenous peoples of Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia, with Upper Hutt-born Rennie having Cook Islands links through his mother.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025

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 • Dec. 27, 2025

They lie some three hundred miles from the Hervey or Cook Islands, from which they are separated by the open sea.

From The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead Vol. II by Frazer, James George, Sir