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 archipelago of white sand beaches and serrated brown rock is about an hour from Muscat.
—
Anna Zacharias, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Jan. 2026
The islands make up an archipelago in the center of the Indian Ocean, more than 1,000 miles northeast of Mauritius.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 20 Jan. 2026
Faroe Islands Located in the North Atlantic, nearly equidistant between Iceland to the northwest, Norway to the east, and Scotland to the south, this archipelago is actually part of Denmark, nearly 1,000 miles away.
—Maya Silver, Outside, 20 Jan. 2026
Mauritius, itself an Indian Ocean nation, had argued that it was illegally forced to give away the archipelago to gain independence from Britain.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 20 Jan. 2026
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Anna Zacharias, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Jan. 2026
The islands make up an archipelago in the center of the Indian Ocean, more than 1,000 miles northeast of Mauritius.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 20 Jan. 2026
Faroe Islands Located in the North Atlantic, nearly equidistant between Iceland to the northwest, Norway to the east, and Scotland to the south, this archipelago is actually part of Denmark, nearly 1,000 miles away.
—Maya Silver, Outside, 20 Jan. 2026
Mauritius, itself an Indian Ocean nation, had argued that it was illegally forced to give away the archipelago to gain independence from Britain.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 20 Jan. 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 28 Jan. 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
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