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

Derived Forms

• Greenlandish
  adjective
• Greenlander
  noun

Example Sentences

Another depicted an enlarged image of Trump towering over Greenland beneath the words "Hello, Greenland!"

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

As temperatures warm, ice in the Arctic, Greenland and Antarctica melts, and the resulting rise in sea levels slows down Earth’s rotation.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

"Greenland belongs to us. It's our country. It doesn't belong to Denmark or the United States. We are a people and we live here," 68-year-old Greenlander Grethe Kramer Berthelsen told AFP.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

"We get this fear from the United States. People were just recovering from last time, when it all began again in January," she said, referring to Trump's declarations for the US to "own" Greenland.

From BBC • May 22, 2026

When Europeans finally began again to visit Greenland in 1577, its Norse colony no longer existed, having evidently disappeared without any record during the 15th century.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond