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 guiding principle is an 80/20 sourcing philosophy that means just 20% of the food is imported while 80% is from the archipelago. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Oct. 2026

An archipelago famed for its friendly culture, white-sand beaches and teeming coral reefs, Fiji has struggled for years to contain a drug boom. — Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2026

The Falklands are home to about 3,500 people, most of whom live in the capital, Stanley, with the remainder spread across the sprawling archipelago roughly half the size of Wales. — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 30 Sep. 2026

The center is relatively small, but the whole archipelago, known as Skärgården, comprises over 30,000 islands. — Riza Cruz, Vogue, 29 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Archipelago Aegean Sea, from Italian Arcipelago, literally, chief sea, from arci- (from Latin archi-) + Greek pelagos sea — more at plagal

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for archipelago

• duodecimo
• impresario
• pianissimo
• acknow
• aglow
• ago
• airglow
• aloe
• altho
• although
• ammo
• backflow

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Kids 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