Midway Islands

British

plural noun

an atoll in the central Pacific, about 2100 km (1300 miles) northwest of Honolulu: annexed by the US in 1867: scene of a decisive battle (June, 1942), in which the US combined fleets destroyed Japan's carrier fleet. Pop: 40 (2013 est). Area: 5 sq km (2 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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Navy met and defeated an overwhelming force of Japanese ships and planes around the Midway Islands on June 4, 1942.

From Washington Times • Feb. 18, 2020

Near the Midway Islands, the chain takes a pronounced change in direction, from northwest-southeast for the Hawaiian Islands and to nearly north-south for the Emperor Seamounts.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

He also pushed through the annexation of the Midway Islands in the Pacific Ocean, which subsequently opened a more stable route to Asian markets.

From Textbooks • Dec. 30, 2014

The Navy's new station on the Midway Islands, first pier in the tenuous 5,860-mile water bridge between Pearl Harbor and the Philippines, was in com mission.

From Time Magazine Archive

I do not remember the cry of "Sail ho!" during all of our cruising between the Hawaiian and Midway Islands save in the vicinity of the former.

From The Last Cruise of the Saginaw by Read, George H.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023