Greenland

[green-luhnd, -land]

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.

Greenland

/ 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)

Greenland

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

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

"Dear women. Dear families. Dear Greenland. Today there is only one right thing to say to you. Sorry," Frederiksen told a packed venue in the centre of the capital Nuuk.

From BBC

She never expected to still be working as a ship's cook, but five years on, she's aboard another boat, somewhere off the coast of Greenland.

From BBC

His other questions for potential jurors – about student protests for Palestine, or the US purchasing Greenland – were "off base," Judge Cannon told him.

From BBC

Speaking on Danish television last December, the former Prime Minister of Greenland, Mute B Egede, said it was "genocide".

From BBC

Lars Lokke Rasmussen has already summoned the US ambassador to Denmark this year in response to a separate report in May suggesting US spy agencies had been told to focus their efforts on Greenland.

From BBC