Iwo Jima

American  

[ee-wuh jee-muh, ee-woh, ee-waw jee-mah] / ˈi wə ˈdʒi mə, ˈi woʊ, ˈi wɔ ˈdʒi mɑ /

noun

1. one of the Volcano Islands, in the N Pacific, S of Japan: under U.S. administration after 1945; returned to Japan 1968.

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Iwo Jima British  

/ ˈdʒiːmə /

noun

1. Official Japanese name: Iō-tō.  an island in the W Pacific, about 1100 km (700 miles) south of Japan: one of the Volcano Islands; scene of prolonged fighting between US and Japanese forces until taken by the US in 1945; returned to Japan in 1968. Area: 20 sq km (8 sq miles)

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Iwo Jima Cultural  

1. An island in the Pacific Ocean, taken from the Japanese by United States Marines near the end of World War II after a furious battle.

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Discover More

The battle has been immortalized by a famous photograph and a sculpture based on the photograph of half a dozen Marines raising the flag of the United States on a summit on Iwo Jima.

Example Sentences

The couple were transported to the USS Iwo Jima, a US naval ship stationed in the Caribbean Sea for the operation.

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026

They had undergone a hard and thorough lesson in geography in their late teens and twenties, and certainly understood the location and significance of the Philippines, Iwo Jima, Tunisia or Normandy.

From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026

They were taken to the USS Iwo Jima, which has been operating in the region and has a full medical staff, according to defense officials.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 18, 2025

From Europe, he was sent to Iwo Jima, where “every square foot of earth seemed to be torn or pockmarked by shell fire and shrapnel,” and then Okinawa.

From Slate • Jun. 6, 2025

The Fifth Fleet that Admiral Spruance sent in against Iwo Jima was the largest one that had ever sailed the Pacific.

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac