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
In fact, the number of U.S. travelers arriving on the archipelago has doubled since 2019.
—
Chris Dong, AFAR Media, 23 June 2025
St Olav’s Waterway, Finland This strand of St Olav’s Waterway takes walkers island hopping from medieval Turku and its cathedral on the Finnish mainland through the Finnish archipelago, one of the most beautiful in the world, via Åland – the islands of peace.
—Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 22 June 2025
Head out onto the water to sail around the archipelago, keeping your eyes peeled for breaching minke whales and bearded seals, as well as shaggy muskoxen—one of the few megafauna to survive the Ice Age—and Arctic wolves patrolling the shoreline.
—Chloe Berge, Outside Online, 17 June 2025
Odette killed 405 people across the archipelago and left Nay Palad in ruins.
—Jeff Chu, Travel + Leisure, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for archipelago
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Chris Dong, AFAR Media, 23 June 2025
St Olav’s Waterway, Finland This strand of St Olav’s Waterway takes walkers island hopping from medieval Turku and its cathedral on the Finnish mainland through the Finnish archipelago, one of the most beautiful in the world, via Åland – the islands of peace.
—Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 22 June 2025
Head out onto the water to sail around the archipelago, keeping your eyes peeled for breaching minke whales and bearded seals, as well as shaggy muskoxen—one of the few megafauna to survive the Ice Age—and Arctic wolves patrolling the shoreline.
—Chloe Berge, Outside Online, 17 June 2025
Odette killed 405 people across the archipelago and left Nay Palad in ruins.
—Jeff Chu, Travel + Leisure, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for archipelago
Cite this Entry
“Archipelago.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archipelago. Accessed 29 Jun. 2025.
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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