island

Y-luhnd/ˈaɪlənd/

11 meanings of island

1
water all aroundnouncountable
A piece of land with water all around it, smaller than a continent.
Like a hill of sand sitting alone in a puddle of water.
They took a small boat out to the island in the bay.
Hawaii is made up of many volcanic islands.
UsageSay on an island (not ~~incorrect: in an island~~). Do not say the s.
Similarisle
Oppositemainland
Note
2
kitchen counternouncountable
A counter or table standing on its own in the middle of a room, used from any side.
Like a table you can walk all the way around.
She rolled out the dough on the kitchen island.
Guests gathered around the island while dinner cooked.
UsagePeople usually say a kitchen island.
Similarcounter, workbench
Note
3
nouncountable
A place or thing that is very different from everything around it.
Like one red apple in a basket of green ones.
The old bookshop was an island of calm in the busy city.
Her tidy desk was an island in a messy office.
UsageSay an island of calm for a quiet place in the middle of noise.
Similaroasis, enclave, pocket, haven, refuge
Note

Less common meanings

4
road refugenouncountable
A raised or painted area in a road that guides traffic or gives people crossing a safe place to wait.
Like a safe stepping stone in the middle of a stream.
We waited on the island until all the cars had passed.
A narrow island runs down the center of the wide street.
UsageAlso called a traffic island.
Similarmedian, refuge
5
cut offverbtransitive
To cut a place or person off from everything around it, as water does to an island.
Like drawing a circle around someone so no one can reach them.
When the river rose, it islanded the farm for three days.
After the storm, our house was islanded by floodwater for two days.
UsageMostly islanded: cut off from other people or places.
Similarisolate, cut off
Note
6
nouncountable
A piece of land with water around most of it but not on every side.
We drove onto the island across the narrow strip of land that joins it to the shore.
Water surrounds the island on three sides.
UsageMostly in names. Land joined to the shore is usually a peninsula.
Similarpeninsula, headland, promontory
Note
7
scatter acrossverbtransitive
To cover a space here and there with things that look like small islands.
Like dropping spots of paint across a clean page.
Patches of snow island the brown hills in early spring.
From the plane, the green fields looked islanded with dark clumps of trees.
Similardot, stud, speckle, pepper, sprinkle
Note
8
carrier towernouncountable
The tall part that rises above the flat top of an aircraft carrier, where the crew controls the ship.
Like a control tower at an airport, but built on a ship.
From the carrier's island, the crew watched each plane land.
Sailors climbed up into the island to watch the takeoffs.
9
roundaboutnoundialectalWest Midlandscountable
A round area where roads meet and cars drive around in a circle.
Like cars going around a circle instead of stopping at a corner.
At the big island near the hospital, take the second exit.
Cars slowed down as they reached the busy island.
Similarroundabout, rotary, circle
Note
10
noun
A piece of land that has no town government of its own but sits fully inside towns that do.
11
noun
A part of a sentence that traps certain words inside, so moving them out breaks the grammar.

Practice

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Origin

It comes from Old English "īeġland," made from words meaning "island" and "land." The letter "s" was added by mistake in the 1500s because of the unrelated word "isle."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

Island derives from Old English īeġland. en.wiktionary.org
Its components mean island and land. en.wiktionary.org
The letter s was inserted in the sixteenth century through association with the unrelated word isle. en.wiktionary.org
The insertion resulted from an etymological mistake. en.wiktionary.org