isle

isle — noun

1. a piece of land completely surrounded by water, like a small island; the word is

1.nounB2
Definition

a piece of land completely surrounded by water, like a small island; the word is often used in poetry or in the official names of specific islands.

Example

For her summer holiday, Layla visited the Isle of Wight with her family.

place name usage: the Isle of Wight

In the old poem, the hero washed up on a lonely isle after the storm.

literary / poetic register

Common collocations
  • deserted isle
  • tiny isle
  • lonely isle
  • remote isle
  • tropical isle
  • the Isle of [name]
Synonyms
  • island

    the common everyday word for any land surrounded by water; much more frequent than 'isle'

  • islet

    refers to a very small island, often in scientific or geographical writing

  • cay

    a low island made of sand or coral, used mainly in Caribbean contexts

Grammar Patterns

the Isle of [place name]

a/an [adjective] isle

Usage Note

In everyday conversation, 'island' is the natural choice. 'Isle' is mainly used in place names (Isle of Man, Isle of Wight) and in poetry or literary writing.

Common Mistakes

The boat reached a small isle in the middle of the lake.
The boat reached a small island in the middle of the lake.
'Isle' sounds literary or old-fashioned for ordinary descriptions of small islands; use 'island' unless the place name includes 'Isle'.
They bought a house on a tropical isle near Thailand.
They bought a house on a tropical island near Thailand.
In everyday descriptions of real places, 'island' is the standard word.

isle — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe land surrounded by water, but they differ in size, register, and regional usage. 'Island' (A2) is the everyday word for any such land mass — 'They live on a small island off the coast.' 'Isle' (B2) is a more literary or poetic term that also appears in official place names like the Isle of Man. You would not use 'isle' in ordinary speech to describe a beach destination. 'Islet' (C1) means a very small island, often in scientific or geographical descriptions. 'Cay' (C2) refers specifically to a low island formed from sand or coral, found mostly in the Caribbean — for example, 'The boat anchored near a tiny cay with palm trees.' In everyday conversation, 'island' covers almost all situations.

island ↗isle ↗isletcay

Common collocations

Phrases

  • Isle of [place name]

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

The word 'isle' entered English through Old French 'isle', which came from Latin 'insula' meaning 'island'. During the Renaissance, a silent 's' was added to the spelling to match the Latin original, though it was never pronounced. Interestingly, the unrelated Old English word 'īegland' (modern 'island') also gained a silent 's' by association with 'isle', even though its roots are completely different.