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

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Gilbert Islands

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

John F. Prince was among the 35 Marines whose remains were found last year on Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands, scene of a three-day battle November 1943.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 10, 2016

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

By the end of August 1943, as our training ended, Admiral Nimitz was getting ready to stage amphibious assaults on the Gilbert Islands with the First and Second Marine divisions.

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