Illustration of atoll
: a coral island consisting of a reef surrounding a lagoon
Did you know?
If you are lucky enough to sail south and west of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean, you'll find the Maldives, a group of about 1,200 coral islands and sandbanks that form the Republic of Maldives. Many islands in that independent nation demonstrate the archetypal atoll, and geographers often use them to point out the characteristic features of such coral islands. Given how prevalent atolls are there, it isn't surprising that atoll comes from the name for that kind of island in Divehi, the official language of the Maldives.
Examples of atoll in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Brando hired him to construct a home on the 12-island atoll of Tetiaroa, Tahiti.
—
Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024
Fixing maritime boundaries means atoll nations can continue to reap the economic benefit of vast fishing grounds, even if populations must migrate as dry land area is significantly reduced.
—Reuters, CNN, 26 Oct. 2024
By collecting coral samples from different reefs around the atoll and analyzing their genetics, the researchers investigated the expansion of rice coral.
—Fanni Szakal, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 June 2024
Taiwan is not some unoccupied atoll in the South China Sea that China can successfully claim so long as other countries do not respond militarily.
—Oriana Skylar Mastro, Foreign Affairs, 3 June 2021
See all Example Sentences for atoll 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024
Fixing maritime boundaries means atoll nations can continue to reap the economic benefit of vast fishing grounds, even if populations must migrate as dry land area is significantly reduced.
—Reuters, CNN, 26 Oct. 2024
By collecting coral samples from different reefs around the atoll and analyzing their genetics, the researchers investigated the expansion of rice coral.
—Fanni Szakal, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 June 2024
Taiwan is not some unoccupied atoll in the South China Sea that China can successfully claim so long as other countries do not respond militarily.
—Oriana Skylar Mastro, Foreign Affairs, 3 June 2021
See all Example Sentences for atoll
Dictionary Entries Near atoll
Cite this Entry
“Atoll.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atoll. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share