Archipelago vs. Island

Archipelagonoun

(collective) A group of islands.

Islandnoun

A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, totally surrounded by water.

Archipelagonoun

(by extension) Something scattered around like an archipelago.

‘The Gulag Archipelago’;

Islandnoun

An entity surrounded by other entities that are very different from itself.

‘an island of tranquility (a calm place surrounded by a noisy environment)’; ‘an island of colour on a butterfly's wing’;

Archipelagonoun

The Grecian Archipelago, or Ægean Sea, separating Greece from Asia Minor. It is studded with a vast number of small islands.

Islandnoun

A superstructure on an aircraft carrier's deck.

Archipelagonoun

Hence: Any sea or broad sheet of water interspersed with many islands or with a group of islands.

Islandnoun

A traffic island.

‘the island in the middle of a roundabout’;

Archipelagonoun

a group of many islands in a large body of water

Islandnoun

(government) An unincorporated area wholly surrounded by one or more incorporated areas.

Archipelago

An archipelago ( (listen) ARK-ih-PEL-ə-goh), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. The Indonesian Archipelago, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Lakshadweep Islands, the Galápagos Islands, the Japanese Archipelago, the Philippine Archipelago, the Maldives, the Balearic Isles, the Bahamas, the Aegean Islands, the Hawaiian Islands, the Canary Islands, Malta, the Azores, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the British Isles, the islands of the Archipelago Sea, and Shetland are all examples of well-known archipelagos.

Islandnoun

(grammar) A phrase from which a wh-word cannot be extracted without yielding invalid grammar.

Islandverb

(transitive) To surround with water; make into an island.

Islandverb

(transitive) To set, dot (as if) with islands.

Islandverb

(transitive) To isolate.

Islandnoun

A tract of land surrounded by water, and smaller than a continent. Cf. Continent.

Islandnoun

Anything regarded as resembling an island; as, an island of ice.

Islandnoun

See Isle, n., 2.

Islandverb

To cause to become or to resemble an island; to make an island or islands of; to isle.

Islandverb

To furnish with an island or with islands; as, to island the deep.

Islandnoun

a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water

Islandnoun

a zone or area resembling an island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of subcontinental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys.