peninsula

noun

pen·​in·​su·​la pə-ˈnin(t)-s(ə-)lə  -shə-lə 

: a portion of land nearly surrounded by water and connected with a larger body by an isthmus

also : a piece of land jutting out into the water whether with or without a well-defined isthmus

the Italian peninsula

peninsular

pə-ˈnin(t)-s(ə-)lər 

-shə-lər

adjective

Synonyms of peninsula

• cape
• point
• headland

Examples of peninsula in a Sentence

They built their house on a narrow peninsula.

the peninsula is constantly buffeted by storms

Recent Examples on the Web

At the end of the peninsula sits the photo-ready Watch Hill Lighthouse. —Morgan Rizzo, Travel + Leisure, 23 Dec. 2025

The deep, warm Kuroshio transports more than 200 times as much water as the Amazon River, traveling north from the equator and normally banking east around Japan’s Boso peninsula, near Tokyo. —Chris Mooney, CNN Money, 17 Dec. 2025

Preparing for a tsunami disaster Located near the end of the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail, Astoria sits on a peninsula that juts into the Columbia River near the Pacific Ocean. —Hannah Norman, CBS News, 17 Dec. 2025

Our camp sat on a small peninsula that knuckled up from the southeastern shore of a seventy-mile-long lake that on maps is called Contwoyto, though this is not a Tłıc̨hǫ word. —Literary Hub, 15 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin paeninsula, from paene almost + insula island

First Known Use

circa 1552, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for peninsula

• insole
• insula

Kids Definition

peninsula

noun

pen·​in·​su·​la pə-ˈnin(t)-s(ə-)lə  -ˈnin-chə-lə 

: a piece of land nearly surrounded by water or sticking out into the water

peninsular

-s(ə-)lər 

-chə-lər

adjective

Etymology

from Latin paeninsula "peninsula," from paene- "almost" and insula "island" — related to insulate, isle, isolate