North Island

American

noun

the northernmost principal island of New Zealand. 44,281 sq. mi. (114,690 sq. km).

North Island British

noun

the northernmost of the two main islands of New Zealand. Pop: 3 087 200 (2004 est). Area: 114 729 sq km (44 297 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.

The presence of the older ash layer also indicates that this site is the oldest known cave in the North Island.

From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2026

Scientists from Australia and New Zealand have uncovered ancient animal remains inside a cave near Waitomo on Aotearoa's North Island.

From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2026

He is currently working in the Hunterville region in central North Island where the season is drawing to a close.

From BBC • Mar. 19, 2026

Using three mechanical excavators, teams worked through the night to clear a mass of mud and debris that engulfed the site after heavy rain lashed the area on New Zealand's North Island.

From Barron's • Jan. 23, 2026

In the centuries after the two groups separated, they evolved in opposite directions, the North Island Maori developing more-complex and the Moriori less-complex technology and political organization.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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