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Easter Island

American  

noun

  1. an island in the S Pacific, W of and belonging to Chile. About 45 sq. mi. (117 sq. km): gigantic statues.


Easter Island British  

noun

  1. Polynesian name: Rapa Nui.  Spanish name: Isla de Pascua.  an isolated volcanic island in the Pacific, 3700 km (2300 miles) west of Chile, of which it is a dependency: discovered on Easter Sunday, 1722; annexed by Chile in 1888; noted for the remains of an aboriginal culture, which includes gigantic stone figures. Pop: 3791 (2002). Area: 166 sq km (64 sq miles)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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Maybe the Faces of Elysian Valley, a traffic circle sculpture that Huckle said “looks like Easter Island in the middle of Cypress Park.”

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 15, 2026

More unorthodox still is Attia’s rhapsodic ode to rapamycin, a drug derived from an antifungal agent first discovered in the soil of a volcanic crater on Easter Island.

From Slate Feb. 26, 2026

In 1913, on the advice of a British Museum curator, Routledge sailed to Easter Island, where she would carry out the first scholarly study of the island’s monuments and traditions.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 20, 2026

Records show that medals were distributed to locals in more than 30 locations that Captain Cook and his crews visited across the pacific, including Tahiti, Easter Island and New Zealand.

From BBC Nov. 26, 2024

Still debatable are the origins of writing on Easter Island, in China, and in Egypt.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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