archipelago
noun
ar·chi·pel·a·go
ˌär-kə-ˈpe-lə-ˌgō 
ˌär-chə-
plural archipelagoes or archipelagos
1
: an expanse of water with many scattered islands
2
: a group of islands
3
: something resembling an archipelago
especially
: a group or scattering of similar things
an archipelago of small parks within the city
Did you know?
The Greeks called it the Aegean Pelagos and the Italians referred to it as Arcipelago (meaning "chief sea"), but English speakers now call it the Aegean Sea. Numerous islands dot its expanse, and 16th-century English speakers adopted a modified form of its Italian name for any sea with a similar scattering of islands. In time, archipelago came to refer to the groups of islands themselves, and now it is often used figuratively, as in, for example, "an archipelago of high-rise buildings."
Examples of archipelago in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The apex predators were seen off the Isles of Scilly — an archipelago southwest of Cornwall, England — in early July.
—
Brendan Rascius
july 14, Miami Herald, 14 July 2025
The Fortress exteriors were shot in Norway’s Svalbard, an archipelago between Norway and the North Pole, whose icy terrain was the perfect setting for the frosty fort.
—Marc Malkin, Variety, 12 July 2025
The Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal, is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atlantic Ocean.
—Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 10 July 2025
Researchers found the wreckage in the South Pacific Ocean near the Solomon Islands, an archipelago situated northeast of Australia.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for archipelago
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Brendan Rascius
july 14, Miami Herald, 14 July 2025
The Fortress exteriors were shot in Norway’s Svalbard, an archipelago between Norway and the North Pole, whose icy terrain was the perfect setting for the frosty fort.
—Marc Malkin, Variety, 12 July 2025
The Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal, is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atlantic Ocean.
—Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 10 July 2025
Researchers found the wreckage in the South Pacific Ocean near the Solomon Islands, an archipelago situated northeast of Australia.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for archipelago
Cite this Entry
“Archipelago.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archipelago. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
archipelago
noun
ar·chi·pel·a·go
ˌär-kə-ˈpel-ə-ˌgō
ˌär-chə-
plural archipelagoes or archipelagos
: a wide stretch of water with many scattered islands
also
: a group of islands
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