island
is·land/ˈaɪlənd/noun, verb
island is spelled I-S-L-A-N-D, 2 syllables: is·land. The wrong spelling people search most is iland: about 270 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 52 of all searches for the word. Island is a noun meaning “A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, totally surrounded by water”. The plural of island is islands.
How many letters and syllables are in island?
| Letters | 6: I-S-L-A-N-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: is·land |
| In writing | 102 times per million words; the 1,048th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, iland, about 270 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell island?
Island is spelled I-S-L-A-N-D. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 52 of the searches for island in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is island?
Island appears 102 times per million words in written English, the 1,048th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Island, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce island?
- /ˈaɪlənd/
- /aj.læɳɖ/
Island has 2 syllables, split is·land in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-island.ogg, En-us-island.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-island.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of island
- islands plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- islanding participle, present
- islanded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does island mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, totally surrounded by water.
- 2
A contiguous area of land, smaller than a continent, partially surrounded by water; a peninsula; a half-island.
Despite its name, Barry Island is actually a peninsula
- 3
An entity surrounded by other entities that are very different from itself.
The quiet library was an island of tranquility in the noisy, bustling city.
- 4
A superstructure on an aircraft carrier's deck.
- 5
A traffic island.
the island in the middle of a roundabout
- 6
A roundabout; a traffic circle.
Dunton island, near Birmingham, is one of the most confusingly labelled islands in the U.K.
- 7
A bench, counter, etc., that is not connected to a wall or other furniture and which can be used from any side.
- 8
Ellipsis of kitchen island.
verb
- 1
To surround with water; make into an island.
- 2
To set, dot (as if) with islands.
the many-islanded Aegean
- 3
To isolate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate island?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of island: isl, isl..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Island in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | île, ile |
| German | Insel, Insle, Insl , Enklave , einschließen, umströmen |
| Portuguese | ilha , ilhar , isolar |
| Spanish | isla, ínsula , oasis |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does island come from?
From earlier iland, from Middle English iland, yland, ylond, from Old English īeġland, from Proto-West Germanic *auwjuland, from Proto-Germanic *awjōlandą (from Proto-Germanic *awjō (“island, waterland, meadow”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂) + *landą (“land”), equivalent to ey + land. Doublet of Öland.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).