Illustration of atoll
: a coral island consisting of a reef surrounding a lagoon
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If you are lucky enough to sail south and west of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean, you'll find the Maldives, a group of about 1,200 coral islands and sandbanks that form the Republic of Maldives. Many islands in that independent nation demonstrate the archetypal atoll, and geographers often use them to point out the characteristic features of such coral islands. Given how prevalent atolls are there, it isn't surprising that atoll comes from the name for that kind of island in Divehi, the official language of the Maldives.
Examples of atoll in a Sentence
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Tikehau, Tiger Sharks and Cousteau 183 miles northwest of Fakarava, the even more diminutive atoll of Tikehau has garnered its own reputation among the global dive community.
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Joe Sills, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
The weather is so much more unpredictable on an atoll—and its consequences are more severe.
—Terry Ward, AFAR Media, 2 Sep. 2025
Known as the Xisha Islands in China and Hoang Sa Islands in Vietnam, the chain of reefs and atolls lies about 300 nautical miles south of the Chinese mainland and has long been a regional flashpoint.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2025
The reef, a narrow, 18-mile-long atoll in the southern Spratlys, is one of several outposts Vietnam has expanded in recent years as part of its current island-building round, which began in 2021.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
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Joe Sills, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
The weather is so much more unpredictable on an atoll—and its consequences are more severe.
—Terry Ward, AFAR Media, 2 Sep. 2025
Known as the Xisha Islands in China and Hoang Sa Islands in Vietnam, the chain of reefs and atolls lies about 300 nautical miles south of the Chinese mainland and has long been a regional flashpoint.
—Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2025
The reef, a narrow, 18-mile-long atoll in the southern Spratlys, is one of several outposts Vietnam has expanded in recent years as part of its current island-building round, which began in 2021.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for atoll
Cite this Entry
“Atoll.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atoll. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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