British Isles

American  

plural noun

1. a group of islands in W Europe: Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and adjacent small islands. 120,592 sq. mi. (312,300 sq. km).

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British Isles British  

plural noun

1. a group of islands in W Europe, consisting of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Orkney, Shetland, the Channel Islands belonging to Great Britain, and the islands adjacent to these

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British Isles Cultural  

1. The islands of Great Britain and Ireland and a number of smaller islands off their coasts.

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Example Sentences

Guernsey has 167 plant species rare in the British Isles and 34 species are found in fewer than 25 locations.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

The other two starters are Vodka Vodka, whose lone stakes win came in a turf race restricted to California-bred horses, and British Isles, who has never won a stakes race.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

One of the Channel Islands, Jersey is part of the British Isles but sets its own laws.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026

They examined how common the C282Y variant was in 29 regions across the British Isles and Ireland.

From Science Daily • Feb. 21, 2026

Around 300, an explorer named Pytheas sailed a ship through the Straits of Gibraltar, turned north, and circumnavigated the British Isles.

From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro