Word of the Day

: June 25, 2008

atoll

noun AT-tawl

What It Means

: a coral island consisting of a reef surrounding a lagoon

atoll in Context

The Marshall Islands, in the central Pacific Ocean, consist of five islands and 29 atolls, which are each made up of many islets.

Did You Know?

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.