French West Indies

American  

plural noun

1. the French islands in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, including Martinique and Guadeloupe and the five dependencies of Guadeloupe: administered as two overseas departments. 1,114 sq. mi. (2,885 sq. km).

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French West Indies British  

plural noun

1. various islands in the Lesser Antilles, administered by France; chiefly Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Barthélemy and the French part of Saint Martin. Pop: 838 000 (2004 est). Area: 2792 sq km (1077 sq miles)

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Example Sentences

In one memorable passage on the French West Indies, he writes:

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

The bacteria were first spotted in 2009 by Olivier Gros, a biologist at the University of the French West Indies and Guiana, while collecting underwater samples in Guadeloupe, a French island group in the Caribbean.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 23, 2022

Others in the French West Indies began as sandbars until seeds and soil morphed into an oasis.

From New York Times • May 17, 2016

She stood at the bedroom door of "a hotel in Martinique in the French West Indies" – the Warner Bros lot in Hollywood – looked up, and asked Humphrey Bogart for a match.

From The Guardian • Aug. 12, 2014

The National Assembly in 1790 maintained this policy, and created free ports in the French West Indies.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 1 "Franciscans" to "French Language" by Various