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Indies

American  
[in-deez] / ˈɪn diz /

noun

  1. (used with a plural verb) the Indies. West Indies.

  2. (used with a plural verb) East Indies.

  3. (used with a singular verb) a region in and near southern and southeastern Asia; India, Indochina, and the East Indies.

Indies British  
/ ˈɪndɪz /

noun

  1. the territories of S and SE Asia included in the East Indies, India, and Indochina

  2. See East Indies

  3. See West Indies

"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.

The U.S. formally recognized Danish sovereignty in 1916 as a condition for its purchase of the Danish West Indies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

In one memorable passage on the French West Indies, he writes:

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Plantation slavery was perfected in the West Indies, notably on the sugar islands of British Barbados and present-day Haiti, where the system proved immensely profitable.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

West Indies dropped two catches in their defeat by India.

From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026

Instead, she walked and read and did needlework and drank cup after cup of steaming tea from the Indies.

From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.