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Synonyms

islet

American  
[ahy-lit] / ˈaɪ lɪt /

noun

  1. a very small island.

adjective

  1. Anatomy. situated in or pertaining to the islet of Langerhans.

    islet cells.
islet British  
/ ˈaɪlɪt /

noun

  1. a small 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

Other Word Forms

  • isleted adjective

Etymology

Origin of islet

From the Middle French word islette, dating back to 1530–40. See isle, -et

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.

Along with another islet, Siri, "these islands have been fortified, turned into mini-fortresses with anti-ship missiles", Pierre Razoux from the France-based Mediterranean Foundation for Strategic Studies told AFP recently.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

Possible solutions include producing large amounts of islet cells in the laboratory from pluripotent human stem cells or developing methods that help transplanted donor islets survive longer and function more efficiently after transplantation.

From Science Daily • Nov. 26, 2025

They were recognized as foreign tissue and were also targeted by an immune system already primed to attack islet cells from any source.

From Science Daily • Nov. 26, 2025

Stanford Medicine scientists report that giving mice both blood-forming stem cells and pancreatic islet cells from an immunologically mismatched donor either completely prevented or fully reversed Type 1 diabetes.

From Science Daily • Nov. 26, 2025

The smoke upon the islet parted, and for a moment, from that vantage, we could see our column begin its progress across the causeway.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

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.