islander

American

[ahy-luhn-der] / ˈaɪ lən dər /

noun

a native or inhabitant of an island.

islander British

/ ˈaɪləndə /

noun

a native or inhabitant of an island
(capital) a native or inhabitant of the Pacific Islands

"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

Etymology

Origin of islander

First recorded in 1540–50; island + -er ¹

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:

islander

Recalling one such journey, islander Tony Usman said "it was very scary", as the poor weather made the transfer from a small boat to the ferry treacherous.

From Barron's ● May 18, 2026

Ms Olamiposi, who had watched previous seasons of Love Island USA, says this year was different - mainly thanks to several TikTok videos of a particular islander: Huda Mustafa.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2025

“It was dark yellow, sometimes black,” one islander told Robie.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025

I am not an islander but I am a proud Washingtonian who feels like our ferry system should be one of the top sources of state pride.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 1, 2023

No one who’s ever been as cold as a New England islander in February would care more about gold than coal.

From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk

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