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Marquesas Islands

American  
[mahr-key-zuhz, -suhz, -suhs] / mɑrˈkeɪ zəz, -səz, -səs /

plural noun

  1. a group of French islands in the S Pacific. 480 sq. mi. (1,245 sq. km).


Marquesas Islands British  
/ mɑːˈkeɪsæs /

plural noun

  1. French name: Îles Marquises.  a group of volcanic islands in the S Pacific, in French Polynesia. Pop: 8712 (2002). Area: 1287 sq km (497 sq miles)

"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

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

In French Polynesia, officials raised predicted wave heights for Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas Islands to 4m, with smaller waves of just under a metre expected on surrounding islands.

From BBC Jul. 30, 2025

The territory has one bright spot: Nuku Hiva, in the Marquesas Islands, where French Polynesia’s vaccination campaign began in January and 85% of the population is fully vaccinated.

From Seattle Times Sep. 3, 2021

If it were up to her, she said, she would be sailing in the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia right now.

From New York Times Dec. 7, 2018

That home was in the Marquesas Islands, where he moved in 1901.

From New York Times Feb. 24, 2011

The nearest lands were the Marquesas Islands, fifteen hundred miles away; the Society Islands, twenty-four hundred miles away, and the Sandwich Islands, three thousand miles away.

From South American Fights and Fighters And Other Tales of Adventure by Cyrus Townsend Brady

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