Virgin Islands

American  

[vur-jin ahy-luhndz] / ˈvɜr dʒɪn ˈaɪ ləndz /

plural noun

1. a group of islands in the West Indies, east of Puerto Rico: comprises the Virgin Islands of the United States and the British Virgin Islands. VI (for use with zip code), V.I.

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Virgin Islands British  

plural noun

1. a group of about 100 small islands (14 inhabited) in the Caribbean, east of Puerto Rico: discovered by Columbus (1493); consists of the British Virgin Islands in the east and the Virgin Islands of the United States in the west and south. Pop: 136 649 (2013 est). Area: 497 sq km (192 sq miles)

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Virgin Islands Cultural  

1. Islands in the Caribbean Sea, east of Puerto Rico, owned by the United States and Britain.

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Christopher Columbus discovered the Virgin Islands in 1493.

Example Sentences

Born to parents who moved to New York from the US Virgin Islands, Rollins incorporated some of the inflections of his heritage into his jazz.

From Barron's • May 26, 2026

His mother, Valborg, who had emigrated from St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, worked as a domestic; his father, Walter, who had emigrated from St. Croix, was a petty officer in the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026

Operating from the privacy-friendly British Virgin Islands, the service maintains a strict, audited no-logs policy.

From Salon • Mar. 30, 2026

Virgin Islands, Carlos was detained at the airport by Customs and Border Protection, which spotted his old removal order from 1997.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

Water Island is supposed to be a part of the United States Virgin Islands, but we were never sainted like Saint Thomas or Saint John or Saint Croix, and so everyone forgets we exist.

From "Hurricane Child" by Kheryn Callender