Definition, synonyms and related words
plural of island
"The boat drifted past several small islands scattered across the calm bay."
In plain English: Islands are pieces of land completely surrounded by water.
"We spent the summer vacation visiting different islands in the Caribbean."
Usage: Use "islands" only when referring to multiple distinct landmasses completely surrounded by water. Do not use it to describe isolated areas of a city or other non-aquatic regions unless those areas are specifically separated by waterways.
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of island
"The boat is islands away from the nearest shore when the fog rolls in."
"The boat islands in the calm water while we wait to dock."
Usage: Do not use "islands" as a verb to mean creating or forming an island; this is a grammatical error because the correct verb is "to island," which means to surround or isolate something. The word "islands" should only be used as the third-person singular form of the noun referring to pieces of land surrounded by water.
The name Islands was selected to reflect its location within a coastal archipelago. This choice highlights the area's distinctive geography of being surrounded by water like a group of islands.