Gilbert Islands

British  

plural noun

1. a group of islands in the W Pacific: with Banaba, the Phoenix Islands, and three of the Line Islands they constitute the independent state of Kiribati; until 1975 they formed part of the British colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands; achieved full independence in 1979. Pop: 82 902 (2005). Area: 295 sq km (114 sq miles)

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Example Sentences

Gilbert Islands, an aircraft carrier that sent fighter pilots to strike Japanese positions in Okinawa and the Sakashima Islands while Mr. Le Vine labored in the engine room.

From New York Times • Nov. 11, 2021

He was assigned to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, which fought the Japanese on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 14, 2017

Westerners first sailed through these islands in the 1600s, but it wasn’t until 1882 that the Gilbert Islands became a British protectorate.

From BusinessWeek • Nov. 21, 2013

They thought it must have come from the Marshall or Gilbert Islands.

From The Guardian • Jan. 16, 2011

Admiral Nimitz and the Navy were getting ready for the first attack on the Gilbert Islands, about 2,000 miles northeast of the Solomons.

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac