isle

/aɪl/

/aɪl/

Other forms: isles

An isle is a small island. The Isle of Capri, off the coast of Italy, is one of the most famous isles in the world.

There is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle. Some people say it's simply a matter of taste: isle sounds more poetic and romantic. Actually, there's no precise definition of island either, other than it's a piece of land surrounded by water and smaller than a continent. A good way to remember that an isle is a small island is that the word isle is smaller than island: this is a little word for a little thing.

Definitions of isle

1. noun

   a small island
   synonyms: islet

   examples:

   Perejil

   a small uninhabited Mediterranean islet claimed by both Morocco and Spain

   Isle of Wight

   an isle and county of southern England in the English Channel

   example of:

   island

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