Gilbert Islands
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Gilbert Islands
A group of islands of western Kiribati in the central Pacific Ocean. Inhabited by a mixture of Polynesian and Melanesian peoples, the islands were first visited by the British in 1765, made a protectorate in 1892, and later became part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony (1916-1976). Full independence as the principal islands of Kiribati was achieved in 1979.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Gilbert Islands
pl n
(Placename) a group of islands in the W Pacific: with Banaba, the Phoenix Islands, and three of the Line Islands they constitute the independent state of Kiribati; until 1975 they formed part of the British colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands; achieved full independence in 1979. Pop: 82 902 (2005). Area: 295 sq km (114 sq miles)
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
Ki•ri•ba•ti
(ˌkɪər iˈbɑ ti, ˈkɪər əˌbæs)n.
a republic in the central Pacific Ocean, on the equator, comprising 33 islands. 85,501; 275 sq. mi. (717 sq. km). Cap.: Tarawa. Formerly, Gilbert Islands.
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Noun | 1. | Gilbert Islands - a group of islands in Micronesia to the southwest of Hawaii; formerly part of the British colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands until it became part of the Republic of Kiribati in 1979 Makin, Tarawa-Makin, Tarawa - battles in World War II in the Pacific (November 1943); United States Marines took the islands from the Japanese after bitter fighting Kiribati, Republic of Kiribati - an island republic in the west central Pacific just to the south of the equator |
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