Meaning & use
island
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Meanings
nouncountable
A piece of land with water on every side, smaller than a continent.
Grammar: The s is silent: pronounced like eye-land.
Patterns
- on an island
- an island in something
We took a ferry to a small island off the coast.
Hawaii is a chain of volcanic islands.
They built a cabin on a quiet island in the lake.
nouncountable
A raised area in a road or in a shop that is separated from its surroundings, such as a traffic island or kitchen island.
Grammar: Usually part of a compound: traffic island, kitchen island.
Patterns
- a traffic island
- a kitchen island
The pedestrian waited on the traffic island for the lights.
The kitchen island has stools along one side.
A checkout island stood in the center of the store.
nouncountablefigurative
Something or someone cut off from the surrounding area or people, or set apart from them.
Grammar: Figurative, often followed by of: an island of calm.
Patterns
- an island of something
The garden was an island of calm in the busy city.
After the move, she felt like an island among strangers.
The village became an island when the flood cut every road.
Word forms
| plural | islands |
|---|
Common combinations
- tropical island
- They honeymooned on a tropical island.
- desert island
- Which book would you take to a desert island?
- island nation
- Japan is an island nation.
- island hopping
- We went island hopping around Greece.
- traffic island
- The pedestrian stood on the traffic island.
- kitchen island
- We eat breakfast at the kitchen island.
Synonyms and how they differ
- isle
- Isle is a literary or place-name word for island and often appears in names like the Isle of Wight.
- islet
- An islet is a very small island.
- key
- Key is a low island or reef, mainly in the Caribbean and Florida.
- atoll
- An atoll is a ring-shaped coral island surrounding a lagoon.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: island or peninsula? island or isle?
island vs peninsula
A peninsula is joined to the mainland on one side, while an island is surrounded by water on all sides.
island vs isle
Isle is the same thing in poetic or place-name use.
Practice
Which is the best definition of an island?
Choose one answer.
An island has water all around. Land joined by a strip is a peninsula, the tempting wrong answer.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “island”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.