isle

American  

[ahyl] / aɪl /

noun

1. a small island.

2. any island.

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verb (used with object)

isled, isling

1. to make into or as if into an isle.

2. to place on or as if on an isle.

isle British  

/ aɪl /

noun

1. an island, esp a small one: used in literature and (when cap.) in place names

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Other Word Forms

• isleless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of isle

1250–1300; Middle English i ( s ) le < Old French < Latin īnsula

Explanation

An isle is a small island. The Isle of Capri, off the coast of Italy, is one of the most famous isles in the world. There is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle. Some people say it's simply a matter of taste: isle sounds more poetic and romantic. Actually, there's no precise definition of island either, other than it's a piece of land surrounded by water and smaller than a continent. A good way to remember that an isle is a small island is that the word isle is smaller than island: this is a little word for a little thing.

Example Sentences

She first flew from San Francisco to Tahiti and then onwards to the isle of Mangareva in outer French Polynesia.

From Barron's • May 15, 2026

Based in the British-owned isle of Jersey, CoinShares previously traded on Nasdaq Stockholm in Sweden.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

The 24-hour guard-gated island is home to fewer than 50 single-family homes—which occupy about three quarters of the isle, while the rest is home to a few condo buildings and hotels.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 16, 2026

They also live in different parts of the country, with Rod in Edinburgh and Roddy settled on the scenic isle of Iona.

From BBC • Oct. 5, 2025

He set up what barriers of sorcery he could about his house and about the isle where he lived.

From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin

Related Words

• archipelago
• enclave
• islet
• peninsula
• reef