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
The Spanish archipelago, which sits 60 miles off the coast of Morocco, is set to receive all remaining passengers and crew onboard the MV Hondius on Sunday.
—
Callum Sutherland, Time, 8 May 2026
Hawaiian monk seals are found throughout the entire Hawaiian archipelago, with majority of them found in Papahānaumokuākea area, while a small number of them live in the main Hawaiian Islands.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 7 May 2026
The archipelago’s regional government opposed the decision to accept the ship.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 6 May 2026
While William Golding’s novel placed the boys on an unnamed Pacific island in the early 1950s, location managers settled on the northwestern Malaysian archipelago of Langkawi for filming.
—Connor Sturges, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for archipelago
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.
Callum Sutherland, Time, 8 May 2026
Hawaiian monk seals are found throughout the entire Hawaiian archipelago, with majority of them found in Papahānaumokuākea area, while a small number of them live in the main Hawaiian Islands.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 7 May 2026
The archipelago’s regional government opposed the decision to accept the ship.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 6 May 2026
While William Golding’s novel placed the boys on an unnamed Pacific island in the early 1950s, location managers settled on the northwestern Malaysian archipelago of Langkawi for filming.
—Connor Sturges, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for archipelago
Cite this Entry
“Archipelago.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archipelago. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
