islets

IPA/ˈaɪ.lət/
KK[ˈaɪlɪts]IPA/ˈaɪ.lət/

islets — noun

  • isletssingular
  • isletsesplural

1. a very small piece of land that is completely surrounded by water, often found i

1.nounB2
Definition

a very small piece of land that is completely surrounded by water, often found in lakes, rivers, or close to a larger island

Example

From the boat, Dahlia spotted a tiny islet covered in palm trees and white sand.

countable: a tiny islet

The old fishing map showed an islet that had disappeared beneath the waves decades ago.

Common collocations
  • remote islet
  • tiny islet
  • rocky islet
  • tropical islet
  • islet of
  • on an islet
Synonyms
  • cay

    a small, low island made of sand or coral, common in the Caribbean

  • key

    alternate name for a cay, often used in place names such as the Florida Keys

  • skerry

    a small rocky island, typically found in cold northern seas

Antonyms
  • continent

    a very large landmass, the opposite extreme in scale

Grammar Patterns

islet + of + noun (literary)

countable: a tiny islet

Usage Note

Often used in geographical or literary descriptions. The singular form 'islet' is also common, though 'islets' appears frequently when referring to groups of small islands.

Common Mistakes

The ship stopped at a islet.
The ship stopped at an islet.
'islet' starts with a vowel sound, so the article 'an' is needed.

2. specialised cell clusters inside the pancreas that create hormones — particularl

2.nounC1
Definition

specialised cell clusters inside the pancreas that create hormones — particularly insulin and glucagon — which keep blood sugar at a stable level

Example

The surgeon transplanted healthy islets into the patient's pancreas to restore insulin production.

transplanted healthy islets

Scientists in the lab grew new islets from stem cells to treat type 1 diabetes.

Common collocations
  • pancreatic islets
  • islets of Langerhans
  • transplant islets
  • protect the islets
  • islet cells
  • islet function
  • damaged islets
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

countable: pancreatic islets

the islets of Langerhans

Usage Note

In medical writing the term is usually plural ('islets'), referring to the thousands of clusters spread throughout the pancreas. The full name 'islets of Langerhans' appears in textbooks and research papers.

Common Mistakes

The islets control sugar in the stomach.
The islets control sugar in the blood.
Islets of Langerhans are located in the pancreas and affect blood sugar, not stomach sugar.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

An islet is simply a very small island, used broadly across geographical contexts to describe any tiny landform surrounded by water. A cay (or key) is a specific type of low-lying island formed from sand or coral debris, most commonly associated with the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico — the Florida Keys are a well-known example. A skerry is a small, bare rocky island typical of cold northern seas such as those off Scotland, Norway, and Iceland. 'Island' is the general term for any landmass surrounded by water, from the smallest islet to continents like Australia. In practice, calling a landform an 'islet' rather than an 'island' signals that it is notably small; the boundary is subjective but an islet is rarely inhabited or large enough to support a permanent community. A sailor might describe a speck of land as 'nothing more than a rocky islet', whereas a 'cay' or 'key' always implies a warm-water, sandy formation.

islet ↗cay ↗key ↗skerryisland ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

Prepositions

  • on an islet
  • to an islet
  • across the islets
  • from islet to islet

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglishGerman (medical sense)

Borrowed from French 'islette', a diminutive of 'isle' (island), which itself comes from Latin 'insula' (island). The suffix '-let' signals something small, so an islet is literally a 'little island'. The medical sense 'pancreatic islets' was coined in 1869 by the German anatomist Paul Langerhans, who first described these clusters of cells under a microscope; the name 'islets of Langerhans' honours his discovery.

First known use

1538

1538, in the meaning defined at sense 1