West Indies

noun

1. 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.
2. Federation of the West Indies. (used with a singular verb) a former federation (1958–62) of the British islands in the Caribbean, comprising Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad, Tobago, and the Windward and Leeward island colonies. Also called West Indies Federation.

West Indies

/ ˈɪndɪz /

noun

1. an archipelago off Central America, extending over 2400 km (1500 miles) in an arc from the peninsula of Florida to Venezuela, separating the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean: consists of the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the Bahamas; largest island is Cuba. Area: over 235 000 sq km (91 000 sq miles) Also calledthe Caribbean

West Indies

1. Archipelago between North America and South America curving from southern Florida to Venezuela .

Notes

It is a popular resort area.

Several of the islands were discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492.

Other Words From

• West Indian adjective noun

Example Sentences

In his statement, the 28-year-old de Kock said he did not “mean to disrespect anyone by not playing against West Indies” but was instead reacting to what he felt was an unnecessary directive imposed on him with disconcertingly short notice.

From Washington Post

A few historians insist that the smoking technique dates to Indigenous tribes in the West Indies cooking meat over an indirect flame.

From Washington Post

Voodoo is the official religion of Haiti and was brought into the West Indies nation by African slaves.

From The Daily Beast

The synchronized dance has locations from the West Indies to Austria and Hong Kong to Australia.

From The Daily Beast

Jackson, who came from the West Indies, was 18 when he was sold to the radical religious leader John Rogers in 1686.

From The Daily Beast

The West Indies image, taken by Glaswegian royal photographer Harry Benson, was found undeveloped in a roll of archived film.

From The Daily Beast

Booker-McConnell was a firm with interests (principally sugar and rum) in the West Indies.

From The Daily Beast

The acid is extracted from the juice of the citron, the lime, and the lemon, fruits grown in Sicily and the West Indies.

From Project Gutenberg

Receiving small encouragement in England, he applied to sugar-cane planters to give his engines a trial in the West Indies.

From Project Gutenberg

I expect that the people who ordered the engine for the West Indies are also tired of waiting.

From Project Gutenberg

She presently returned, and said, that Mr. Brownlow had sold off his goods, and gone to the West Indies six weeks before.

From Project Gutenberg

This island produces at the present time the finest cigar leaf of the West Indies, which is considered by many as the best grown.

From Project Gutenberg