archipelago
noun
ar·chi·pel·a·go
ˌär-kə-ˈpe-lə-ˌgō 
ˌär-chə-
plural archipelagoes or archipelagos
1
: an expanse of water with many scattered islands
2
: a group of islands
3
: something resembling an archipelago
especially
: a group or scattering of similar things
an archipelago of small parks within the city
Did you know?
The Greeks called it the Aegean Pelagos and the Italians referred to it as Arcipelago (meaning "chief sea"), but English speakers now call it the Aegean Sea. Numerous islands dot its expanse, and 16th-century English speakers adopted a modified form of its Italian name for any sea with a similar scattering of islands. In time, archipelago came to refer to the groups of islands themselves, and now it is often used figuratively, as in, for example, "an archipelago of high-rise buildings."
Examples of archipelago in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
David Copperfield Photo: Marc Serota/Getty Images In 2006, magician David Copperfield shelled out $50 million for the deed to Musha Cay, an archipelago of 11 islands in the Bahamas, spanning a whopping 700 acres.
—
Katie Schultz, Architectural Digest, 4 Dec. 2024
Vanuatu, home to about 335,000 people, is an archipelago of 82 islands, many of which are as little as 3 feet above sea level, and has seen sea level increase by about 0.2 inches in the past 30 years, as well as an increase in extreme weather like tropical cyclones, flooding and landslides.
—Zack Budryk, The Hill, 2 Dec. 2024
Taiwan is an archipelago of tropical islands in East Asia.
—Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2024
India also delivered BrahMos missiles to the Philippines this year, as the archipelago country remains locked in a dispute with China over maritime territorial claims in the South China Sea.
—Harsh V. Pant, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2024
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Katie Schultz, Architectural Digest, 4 Dec. 2024
Vanuatu, home to about 335,000 people, is an archipelago of 82 islands, many of which are as little as 3 feet above sea level, and has seen sea level increase by about 0.2 inches in the past 30 years, as well as an increase in extreme weather like tropical cyclones, flooding and landslides.
—Zack Budryk, The Hill, 2 Dec. 2024
Taiwan is an archipelago of tropical islands in East Asia.
—Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2024
India also delivered BrahMos missiles to the Philippines this year, as the archipelago country remains locked in a dispute with China over maritime territorial claims in the South China Sea.
—Harsh V. Pant, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for archipelago
Dictionary Entries Near archipelago
Cite this Entry
“Archipelago.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archipelago. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
archipelago
noun
ar·chi·pel·a·go
ˌär-kə-ˈpel-ə-ˌgō
ˌär-chə-
plural archipelagoes or archipelagos
: a wide stretch of water with many scattered islands
also
: a group of islands
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