Mariana Islands

American  

[mair-ee-ahn-uh ahy-luhndz, mar-, mah-ree-ah-nah] / ˈmɛər iˌɑn ə ˈaɪ ləndz, ˈmær-, ˌmɑ riˈɑ nɑ /

noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. a group of 15 small islands in the Pacific, E of the Philippines: divided into Guam, a possession of the U.S., and the North Marianas, formally under U.S. trusteeship. 453 sq. mi. (1,127 sq. km).

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Mariana Islands British  

/ ˌmærɪˈɑːnə /

plural noun

1. Former name (1521–1668): Ladrone Islands.  a chain of volcanic and coral islands in the W Pacific, east of the Philippines and north of New Guinea: divided politically into Guam (a US unincorporated territory) and the islands north of Guam constituting the Northern Mariana Islands (a US commonwealth territory). Area: 1018 sq km (393 sq miles)

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Example Sentences

Democrats, meanwhile, held primaries in the states of Georgia, Washington and Mississippi, as well as in the Northern Mariana Islands and for Democrats living abroad.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2024

But its location would allow the United States to move northwest: first to the Marshall Islands, then to the Mariana Islands and eventually to Japan itself.

From New York Times • Nov. 18, 2023

In Hawaii, the Mariana Islands, the Marshall Islands, the South China Sea, and Vanuatu, the algae have overgrown corals killed by coastal runoff and other environmental factors.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 6, 2023

Traditionally, whales that feed in Russia migrate south to breed in Japan, the Mariana Islands, and the Philippines.

From National Geographic • Sep. 28, 2023

He showed her the deepest spot on earth, seven miles deep, above the Mariana Islands.

From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri