Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Island

//ˈaɪlənd// name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Proper Noun

1
Long Island (in New York State). New-York-City
"Candy came from out on the Island / In the backroom, she was everybody's darling"
2
Long Beach Island. New-Jersey
3
Vancouver Island. British-Columbia
"A grizzly was photographed at Rugged Point near Kyuquot on the northwest coast of the Island in May, close to the time bears emerge from their dens, suggesting it had successfully hibernated on the Island."
4
Synonym of Prince Edward Island. Canada, colloquial
5
Epstein Island. Internet

Show 1 more definition

6
HM Prison Parkhurst, a prison on the Isle of Wight. UK, colloquial

Noun

1
A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, totally surrounded by water.
"No man is an Iland, intire of it ſelfe; euery man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; […]"
2
a zone or area resembling an island wordnet
3
A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, partially surrounded by water; a peninsula; a half-island. broadly
"Despite its name, Barry Island is actually a peninsula"
4
a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water wordnet
5
An entity surrounded by other entities that are very different from itself.
"The quiet library was an island of tranquility in the noisy, bustling city."

Show 7 more definitions

6
A superstructure on an aircraft carrier's deck.
7
A traffic island.
"the island in the middle of a roundabout"
8
A roundabout; a traffic circle. West-Midlands, broadly
"Dunton island, near Birmingham, is one of the most confusingly labelled islands in the U.K."
9
A bench, counter, etc., that is not connected to a wall or other furniture and which can be used from any side.
"A short, rather studious young woman on noticing him moved from behind an island counter."
10
A bench, counter, etc., that is not connected to a wall or other furniture and which can be used from any side.; Ellipsis of kitchen island. abbreviation, alt-of, broadly, ellipsis
11
An unincorporated area wholly surrounded by one or more incorporated areas.
12
A phrase from which a wh-word cannot be extracted without yielding invalid grammar.
"Adverbial subordinate clauses are islands for extraction: "They have a billion dollars of inventory that they don't know where *(it) is"."

Verb

1
To surround with water; make into an island. transitive
"We paused at little river cities along the way and walked upon their bushy dikes, and heard tales of overflows in flood seasons, when four feet or more of water islanded the houses."
2
To set, dot (as if) with islands. transitive
"God dwells in light! Before the ocean of unmeasured space, was islanded with stars serenely bright, reflecting back the radiance of his face - he dwelt above in heaven’s immortal bliss, thinking into existence that which is."
3
To isolate. transitive
"The turkey's nest was islanded with a fragrant swath,—the "heft" of the crop noted and rejoiced over,—the tons of good timothy and clover calculated,— […]"

Etymology

Etymology 1

From earlier iland, from Middle English iland, yland, ylond, from Old English īeġland, from Proto-West Germanic *auwjuland, from Proto-Germanic *awjōlandą (from Proto-Germanic *awjō (“island, waterland, meadow”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂) + *landą (“land”), equivalent to ey + land. Doublet of Öland. Cognate with Scots island, iland, yland (“island”), West Frisian eilân (“island”), Saterland Frisian Ailound (“island”), Dutch eiland (“island”), Low German Eiland (“island”), German Eiland (“island”), Swedish ö (“island”), Öland (“Sweden's second largest island”), Danish ø (“island”), Norwegian øy (“island”), øyland (“large island”), Icelandic eyland (“island”). The insertion of ⟨s⟩—a 16th century spelling modification—is due to a change in spelling to the unrelated term isle, which previously lacked s (cf. Middle English ile, yle). The re-addition was mistakenly carried over to include iland as well. Related also to German Aue (“water-meadow”), Latin aqua (“water”). More at ea.

Etymology 2

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: island