Honshu

American

[hon-shoo, hawn-shoo] / ˈhɒn ʃu, ˈhɔn ʃu /

noun

an island in central Japan: chief island of the country. 88,851 sq. mi. (230,124 sq. km).

Honshu British

/ ˈhɒnʃuː /

noun

Also called: Hondo. the largest of the four main islands of Japan, between the Pacific and the Sea of Japan; regarded as the Japanese mainland; includes a number of offshore islands and contains most of the main cities. Pop: 102 324 961 (2000). Area: 230 448 sq km (88 976 sq miles)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Smaller black bears, meanwhile, are common across large parts of Japan, including on the main island of Honshu, and are responsible for most of the attacks.

From Barron's • May 8, 2026

Colorful auroras appeared around Japan's Honshu and Hokkaido islands on May 11, 2024, sparked by an intense magnetic storm.

From Science Daily • Dec. 5, 2024

Earlier this year, a Japanese macaque named Honshu escaped from a zoo in Scotland.

From BBC • Nov. 7, 2024

The monkey’s real name, he added, was Honshu.

From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2024

The earliest Yayoi sites on Kyushu contained pots both in the new Yayoi styles and in the old Jomon styles, but the latter dropped out as Yayoi culture and pottery spread north through Honshu.

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023