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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Kate most recently sported the custom accessory during a trip to the Scottish isles of Mull and Iona with William in April, which fan blogs identified as the Gold Fixed Alphabet Necklace by Daniella Draper. Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2025 Elsewhere, owners can cross a short bridge to reach the estate’s private isle above calm waters. Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 3 Sep. 2025 The third installment in Rian Johnson’s Knives Out series will feature a darker, more Gothic aesthetic and tone following the idyllic Greek isles setting of Glass Onion. Ben Rosenstock, Time, 27 Aug. 2025 The last of the country’s 20 regions to unify with the mainland in 1861, the 9,300-square-mile isle still maintains a notable independent streak. Alexandra Kirkman, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 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 9 Sep. 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

More from Merriam-Webster on isle

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!