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
Man drops gun, flees charging polar bear in Norway
Dramatic video captures a man's escape from a polar bear in Pyramiden, a town in Norway's archipelago of Svalbard.
—
Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 30 Apr. 2025
From a single museum-hotel, an entire archipelago has metamorphosed into a comprehensive art destination.
—Ryan Craggs, Travel + Leisure, 29 Apr. 2025
On Española Island, one of the archipelago’s oldest landmasses, the Hood Island tortoise (Chelonoidis niger hoodensis) had long acted as a keystone herbivore, sculpting vegetation and dispersing seeds in an ecosystem that evolved around its lumbering presence.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025
It will be located on an island of the same name to the country's west, and is part of an archipelago of 90 islands.
—Adam Williams, New Atlas, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for archipelago
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Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 30 Apr. 2025
From a single museum-hotel, an entire archipelago has metamorphosed into a comprehensive art destination.
—Ryan Craggs, Travel + Leisure, 29 Apr. 2025
On Española Island, one of the archipelago’s oldest landmasses, the Hood Island tortoise (Chelonoidis niger hoodensis) had long acted as a keystone herbivore, sculpting vegetation and dispersing seeds in an ecosystem that evolved around its lumbering presence.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025
It will be located on an island of the same name to the country's west, and is part of an archipelago of 90 islands.
—Adam Williams, New Atlas, 22 Apr. 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 17 May. 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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