peninsula

American  

[puh-nin-suh-luh, -nins-yuh-luh] / pəˈnɪn sə lə, -ˈnɪns yə lə /

noun

1. an area of land almost completely surrounded by water except for an isthmus connecting it with the mainland.

2. the Peninsula,

   1. Spain and Portugal together; Iberian Peninsula; Iberia.

   2. a district in SE Virginia between the York and James rivers: Civil War battles.

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peninsula ¹ British  

/ pɪˈnɪnsjʊlə /

noun

1. a narrow strip of land projecting into a sea or lake from the mainland

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Peninsula ² British  

noun

1. short for the Iberian Peninsula

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peninsula Scientific  

/ pə-nĭn′syə-lə /

1. A piece of land that projects into a body of water and is connected with a larger landmass.

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peninsula Cultural  

1. A body of land enclosed on three sides by water, jutting out from a larger body of land.

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Usage

The noun peninsula is sometimes confused with the adjective peninsular: the Iberian peninsula (not peninsular )

Other Word Forms

• peninsular adjective
• peninsularism noun
• peninsularity noun
• transpeninsular adjective

Etymology

Origin of peninsula

1530–40; < Latin paenīnsula, equivalent to paen- pen- + īnsula island

Explanation

Part of Italy is a peninsula, and it's a pretty famous one, because it looks like a boot. A peninsula juts into the water but has at least a narrow a connection to land. If the boot broke off from Italy just below the "knee," it would be an island. The word peninsula, which entered English in the 16th century, comes from the Latin words paene, "almost," and insula, "island." Some confuse an island with a peninsula because both are surrounded by so much water, but a peninsula is connected to a mainland at some point, while an island is completely encircled by water. In most cases, a peninsula is narrow and long, resembling an arm or leg.

Example Sentences

The Strait of Hormuz is the gateway to the Middle East’s vast oil wealth on the east side of the Arabian peninsula.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

After that, hurricanes Ian, Idalia, Helene, and Milton all made landfall on the peninsula.

From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026

Our planet appears upside down, with the Sahara desert and the Iberian peninsula visible to the left and the eastern portion of South America to the right.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026

The Maguro left from Mexico's Yucatan peninsula Friday carrying 32 people, including activists from Australia, Brazil, Ecuador, Italy, Mexico and the United States, and AFP journalists.

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

The Mayan stepped pyramids of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and I. M. Pei's glass entrance to the Louvre in Paris are but two examples of the pyramid shape of different times in different cultures.

From "The Annotated Mona Lisa" by Carol Strickland and John Boswell