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
Authorities in French Polynesia are urging residents of the Marquesas Islands archipelago to brace for waves as high as 13 feet, Reuters reports.
—
Rachel Treisman, NPR, 30 July 2025
The advisory spans from Attu Island on the westernmost tip of the archipelago to Chignik Bay.
—Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 July 2025
The submerged area called the Madura Strait was once part of a landmass called Sundaland, which connected the Indonesian archipelago to mainland Asia.
—Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 July 2025
The remote volcanic archipelago, consisting of more than a dozen major islands about 600 miles off the Pacific coast of Ecuador, is known for its richness of biodiversity, historical significance to science, and ecosystems found nowhere else on earth.
—Hannah Walhout, Travel + Leisure, 8 July 2025
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Rachel Treisman, NPR, 30 July 2025
The advisory spans from Attu Island on the westernmost tip of the archipelago to Chignik Bay.
—Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 July 2025
The submerged area called the Madura Strait was once part of a landmass called Sundaland, which connected the Indonesian archipelago to mainland Asia.
—Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 July 2025
The remote volcanic archipelago, consisting of more than a dozen major islands about 600 miles off the Pacific coast of Ecuador, is known for its richness of biodiversity, historical significance to science, and ecosystems found nowhere else on earth.
—Hannah Walhout, Travel + Leisure, 8 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 5 Aug. 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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