Meaning & use

archipelago

noun·Academic

A group or chain of islands scattered across an area of sea.

See it in a sentence

The Philippines is an archipelago made up of more than seven thousand islands.

Sailors navigated carefully through the archipelago's narrow and treacherous rocky channels.

A note on using this word

Often used specifically for a named group of islands, such as the Greek archipelago.

Words with a similar meaning

island chain

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