Vancouver Island

American  

[van-koo-ver ahy-luhnd] / vænˈku vər ˈaɪ lənd /

noun

1. a major island of British Columbia, Canada, off the southwest coast of the mainland: the largest and most populous island of all the Americas’ west coasts. 12,408 sq. mi. (32,135 sq. km).

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Etymology

Origin of Vancouver Island

First recorded in 1845–50; named after British Royal Navy Captain George Vancouver (1757–1798)

Example Sentences

Did the sea kelp—immediately frozen after it’s harvested, resembling chopped spinach—arrive safely to New York from Vancouver Island?

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

Off the coast of Vancouver Island, in the Cascadia region, scientists have now seen that "train wreck" unfolding.

From Science Daily • Oct. 25, 2025

At his very final stop in the far West, in the isolation of Victoria, Vancouver Island, with only half an hour of campaigning allowed, Carney went "unplugged" among supporters.

From BBC • May 3, 2025

In Anacla, a village on what is now called Vancouver Island, only 1 out of more than 600 people survived, according to the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2025

Vancouver Island was just visible on the horizon.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown