Greenland

American  

[green-luhnd, -land] / ˈgrin lənd, -ˌlænd /

noun

1. a self-governing island belonging to Denmark, located NE of North America: the largest island in the world. About 844,000 sq. mi. (2,186,000 sq. km); about 700,000 sq. mi. (1,800,000 sq. km) icecapped. Godthåb.

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Greenland British  

/ ˈɡriːnlənd /

noun

1. Danish name: Grønland.  Greenlandic name: Kalaallit Nunaat.  a large island, lying mostly within the Arctic Circle off the NE coast of North America: first settled by Icelanders in 986; resettled by Danes from 1721 onwards; integral part of Denmark (1953–79); granted internal autonomy 1979; mostly covered by an icecap up to 3300 m (11 000 ft) thick, with ice-free coastal strips and coastal mountains; the population is largely Inuit, with a European minority; fishing, hunting, and mining. Capital: Nuuk (Godthåb). Pop: 57 714 (2013 est). Area: 175 600 sq km (840 000 sq miles)

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Greenland Cultural  

1. Island lying largely within the Arctic Circle; owned by Denmark but governed locally since 1978. Its native name is Kaballit Nunaat.

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Discover More

Greenland is the largest island in the world. (Australia is larger but is officially a continent, not an island.)

Other Word Forms

• Greenlander noun
• Greenlandish adjective

Example Sentences

“Nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The White House is ramping up talk about acquiring Greenland.

From Barron's

In a statement, the White House told the BBC that acquiring Greenland was a "national security priority".

From BBC

That’s an area that includes not only Cuba, Colombia and Greenland, already seen as likely targets for U.S. military intervention, but also parts of Western Europe and Africa.

From MarketWatch

Greenland is the world's largest island - it's six times the size of Germany.

From BBC