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

See Examples For:

Greenland

The anniversary is notable in light of the recent security agreement between the United States, Denmark and Greenland.

From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2026

Greenland and Antarctica contain vast amounts of frozen water, and changes in their ice sheets can have major consequences for global sea levels.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

Between September 30 and October 4, the satellite collected measurements of the Greenland Ice Sheet's surface elevation.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026

The government complained that hungry sharks are eating too much Atlantic cod and Greenland halibut, cutting into what humans can bring home and damaging their gear.

From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026

Greenland ice cores show that the Toba blast was followed by at least six years of "volcanic winter" and goodness knows how many poor growing seasons after that.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson