isle

[ ahyl ]

/ aɪl /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for isle on Thesaurus.com

noun

a small island.

any island.

verb (used with object), isled, isl·ing.

to make into or as if into an isle.

to place on or as if on an isle.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of isle

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

OTHER WORDS FROM isle

isleless, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH isle

aisle, I'll, isle

How to use isle in a sentence

MacDonald mans the office despite being—like most of the rest of the Western Isles, it seems—in his 70s.
Scotland’s ‘Yes’ Campaign and the Myth of Scottish Equality|Noah Caldwell|September 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Conceptually, the “Angel of Death” was a cultural mainstay in continental Europe and the British Isles by the late Middle Ages.
Ebola Rages in West Africa, Reigniting Humanity’s Oldest Fear: The Plague|Scott Bixby|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Disney-star-turned-'Rizzoli & Isles'-actor Lee Thompson Young died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Monday.
Lee Thompson Young, Star of 'The Famous Jett Jackson,' Commits Suicide|Kevin Fallon|August 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But by 1920, American per-capita GDP exceeded that of the British Isles.
American Household Gadget Exceptionalism|Megan McArdle|February 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST

You can see it in the empty canned food, rice, and bread isles at the grocery store.
Diaries From Japan: Dispatches From People Living in Tokyo and Sendai|Brian Ries|March 16, 2011|DAILY BEAST
At the close of the reception a band of Philippine musicians played a selection of graceful airs of their native isles.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
On the 7th of August we neared the Canary Isles, but unfortunately, on account of the thick fog, we could not see them.
A Woman's Journey Round the World|Ida Pfeiffer
In truth, the art of tobacco using is nowhere more ignored, nowhere more contemptuously neglected than in these 'favored isles.'
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
Bruce may have taken refuge again in Glen Trool; Gray's mention of the isles may result from a confusion with earlier events.
King Robert the Bruce|A. F. Murison
The king, her father, only lingered five more days, and on his death the tiny infant became Queen of Scotland and the Isles.
The Childhood of Distinguished Women|Selina A. Bower

British Dictionary definitions for isle

isle

/ (aɪl) /

noun

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

Word Origin for isle

C13: from Old French isle, from Latin insula island

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

isle

Origin of isle

OTHER WORDS FROM isle

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH isle

Words related to isle

How to use isle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for isle

Word Origin for isle