Gilbert Islands

plural noun

1. a group of islands in the W Pacific: with Banaba, the Phoenix Islands, and three of the Line Islands they constitute the independent state of Kiribati; until 1975 they formed part of the British colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands; achieved full independence in 1979. Pop: 82 902 (2005). Area: 295 sq km (114 sq miles)

Example Sentences

After they passed the Gilbert Islands, they learned they were going to Germany.

From Literature

Gilbert Islands, an aircraft carrier that sent fighter pilots to strike Japanese positions in Okinawa and the Sakashima Islands while Mr. Le Vine labored in the engine room.

From New York Times

Robert James Hatch of Woods Cross was killed in 1943, searchers found his remains and others in a previously unrecorded burial trench on Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands.

From Washington Times

He died on the first day of fighting against the Japanese on the island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands.

From Washington Times

He was a 21-year-old radio operator aboard a B-24 bomber that crashed shortly after taking off from an airfield on the Tarawa atoll in the Gilbert Islands on Jan. 21, 1944.

From Seattle Times