Tokelau

British

/ ˈtəʊkəˌlaʊ /

plural noun

an island group in the South Pacific composed of three atolls, Nukunono, Atafu, and Fakaofo; dependent territory of New Zealand. Pop: 1368 (2012 est). Area: about 11 sq km (4 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.

They had settled themselves on islands as distant from each other as Maui and Tokelau, Samoa and Mangareva, the Cooks and Kermadec, Easter Island and Norfolk Island.

From New York Times • May 14, 2019

Foa’i traces his heritage to the island nations of Tokelau and Tuvalu, and since 1994 he has led a world-music band called Te Vaka, performing songs mainly in the Tokelauan tongue.

From Slate • Nov. 22, 2016

Tokelau and American Samoa are also losing significant numbers of people.

From US News • Jul. 13, 2014

"Whales don't recognize national boundaries, and Tokelau would be remiss if we failed to support our Pacific island neighbors in the quest to help recovery of the whales in our region," Toloa said.

From US News • Apr. 14, 2010

Background: Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889.

From The 2002 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

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