island
Americannoun
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a tract of land completely surrounded by water, and not large enough to be called a continent.
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something resembling an island, especially in being isolated or having little or no direct communication with others.
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a raised platform with a counter or other work surface on top situated in the middle area of a room, especially a kitchen, so as to permit access from all sides.
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a low concrete platform for gasoline pumps at an automotive service station.
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a clump of woodland in a prairie.
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an isolated hill.
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Anatomy. an isolated portion of tissue differing in structure from the surrounding tissue.
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Railroads. a platform or building between sets of tracks.
verb (used with object)
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to make into an island.
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to dot with islands.
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to place on an island; isolate.
noun
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a mass of land that is surrounded by water and is smaller than a continent
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See traffic island
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anatomy a part, structure, or group of cells distinct in constitution from its immediate surroundings
verb
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to cause to become an island
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to intersperse with islands
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to place on an island; insulate; isolate
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of island
First recorded before 900; Middle English iland, Old English īgland, īland, variant of īegland, from īeg “island” (cognate with Old Norse ey ) + land land; spelling with -s- by association with isle
Explanation
An island is a piece of land that is surrounded on all sides by water. Some islands are so small that a beach chair and umbrella barely fit on them and some are big enough to contain a whole nation. To get to an island you must take a boat, bridge or airplane — be a strong swimmer. If you can get there by land it’s not an island, though it may be a peninsula, like Florida. There are many famous islands, like Manhattan and the islands of Hawaii. Things that are free-standing can also be called islands, like the island made of cabinets and a counter that is found in some kitchens — it's not connected to anything else.
Vocabulary lists containing island
Physical Geography - Introductory
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Physical Geography - Middle School
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Physical Geography - High School
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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.
See Examples For:
The island nation first received a TPS designation after a massive earthquake devastated it in 2010.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
But another island, Stromboli, still depends on ships with water cisterns.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
But his highest level of fame came from playing a thoughtful paleontologist summoned to an island off Costa Rica full of cloned dinosaurs in “Jurassic Park” in 1993.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Their itinerary will include visits to the Roman Fort at Longis, the internationally important Ramsar site and gannet colony on the island's west coast, together with visits to a selection of gardens across the island.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
They try to remain hopeful, but in May 1942 they receive devastating news: Corregidor, the island where General MacArthur had established his new headquarters, has been defeated.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
An existing desalination plant with large white silos on Vulcano, one of the archipelago's eight islands, has made it autonomous for drinking water.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
Even those who grew up on the islands don’t take it for granted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
On the Aeolian islands of Alicudi, Filicudi, Panarea and Stromboli, a plan for four new desalination plants proposed by the local municipality is proving divisive.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
Urban heat islands also help them remain active later into the colder seasons, extending both their survival and their geographic range beyond what would normally be possible.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
For three days, they traveled over seas and islands and coastlines, and then they spotted the Juggernaut, floating on the waves of the northern ocean.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
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.
