Meaning & use
peninsula
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Meaning
nouncountable
A long piece of land that sticks out into the sea or a lake and is joined to a larger area of land on one side.
Grammar: Countable: the Korean peninsula, several peninsulas. Written with a capital P in some names.
Patterns
- on the peninsula
- a peninsula of something
Italy sits on a long peninsula in the Mediterranean.
We drove to the tip of the peninsula to watch the sunset.
The peninsula is connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land.
Word forms
| plural | peninsulas |
|---|
Common combinations
- narrow peninsula
- The village sits on a narrow peninsula.
- the tip of the peninsula
- A lighthouse stands at the tip of the peninsula.
- connected to the mainland
- The peninsula is connected to the mainland by a bridge.
- across the peninsula
- A road runs across the peninsula.
- Iberian peninsula
- Spain and Portugal share the Iberian peninsula.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cape
- Cape names a point of land reaching into water, often smaller than a peninsula.
- headland
- Headland is a high point of land projecting from a coast, usually shorter than a peninsula.
- promontory
- Promontory is a high ridge reaching into the sea and is more literary than peninsula.
Opposites
Word family
- peninsular adjective
- relating to a peninsula
- isthmus noun
- a narrow strip of land linking two larger areas
Commonly confused: peninsula or island?
peninsula vs island
An island is surrounded by water on all sides, while a peninsula stays joined to the mainland on one side.
Practice
What makes a landform a peninsula and not an island?
Choose one answer.
A peninsula is attached to a larger landmass and surrounded by water on most sides. An island is surrounded on all sides.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “peninsula”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.