isle

1 of 2

noun

plural isles
: island
Pacific isles
Steering with due course toward the isle of Rhodes …William Shakespeare
especially : a small island : islet
I once lived on the … island of Antiparos, a tiny isle behind Paros. Emily Prager
Islay is a small Hebridean isle, some 25 miles in length, with a population of less than 4,000, yet it boasts eight of the oldest and most famous distilleries in Scotland. Henry Shukman

isle

2 of 2

verb

isled; isling

transitive verb

1
: to make an isle of
2
: to place on or as if on an isle

Examples of isle in a Sentence

Noun the Australian seas are rife with uninhabited isles
Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
But even the tidiest isles can succumb to storms, natural or otherwise. Leo Barraclough, Variety, 9 July 2025 It's been deemed to have one of the prettiest small towns in California and as a locals-only secret for a scenic getaway, but the 76-square-mile isle can also burst to life if an event is being held. Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 24 June 2025 Shuna is classic Hebridean drama—rocky cliffs, quiet coves, sandy beaches, and sweeping views of the western isles from its 295-foot-high summit. Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 20 June 2025 Best part is, hardly anything's changed since Darwin's time on these volcanic isles... except their popularity. Olivia James, Outside Online, 24 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for isle

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French ile, isle, from Latin insula

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1576, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of isle was in the 13th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Isle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/isle. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

isle

noun
ˈī(ə)l
: island sense 1
especially : islet
Etymology

Noun

from early French isle "isle, island," from Latin insula "island" — related to insulate, isolate, peninsula

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