West Indies
Americannoun
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Also called the Indies. (used with a plural verb) an archipelago in the northern Atlantic between North and South America, comprising the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the Bahamas.
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Also called West Indies Federation. (used with a singular verb) Federation of the West Indies. a former federation (1958–62) of the British islands in the Caribbean, comprising Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad, Tobago, and the Windward and Leeward island colonies.
noun
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It is a popular resort area.
Several of the islands were discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492.
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West Indies all-rounder Justin Greaves took five wickets without conceding a run in an incredible spell of bowling on day three of the first Test against Pakistan.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Though not as successful a skipper as player, he was West Indies captain between 1965 and 1972.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The form of West Indies, in 10th, suggests McCullum's men will squeeze in without having to go through a qualifying tournament.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Three years later, Shantha Rangaswamy of Bengaluru captained India in their first officially recognised international series, a six-Test contest against West Indies.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
As a result, ships built and manned in Spain itself were able to sail to the West Indies; there was nothing equivalent to the Greenland bottleneck that had throttled Norse colonization.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.