atoll
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of atoll
First recorded in 1615–25; earlier atollon, from French: a word used in early descriptions of the Maldive Island atolls; said to be Divehi ( Indo-Aryan language of the Maldives) atoḷu
Explanation
An atoll is an island formed by a ring-shaped coral reef encircling a lagoon. The word comes from the language of the Maldives, an island chain in the Indian Ocean famous for gorgeous beaches and coral reefs. The word atoll appeared in English in the early 17th century, when the British and the Dutch were vying for control of Indian Ocean trade. You may have heard of Bikini Atoll, in the South Pacific — where the U.S. did extensive nuclear testing in the 1940s and 1950s. Its people were moved to neighboring atolls but haven’t been able to return because of lingering radiation. Even so, Bikini Atoll has become a destination for divers interested in WWII shipwrecks.
Vocabulary lists containing atoll
Physical Geography - Middle School
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Physical Geography - High School
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Pacific Islands - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The rescue spacecraft developed by the US startup Katalyst is slated to lift off Tuesday at 1023 GMT from a Pacific Ocean atoll aboard a small rocket named Pegasus.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
When the Marines headed toward the beach on the Tarawa atoll in 1943, things didn’t go well.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
The island of Kiritimati - an atoll in the remote Pacific nation of Kiribati - became the first place to enter 2026.
From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025
The operation concerned a 50-mile-wide atoll, Rongelap Island, in the Marshall Islands.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
Both of those atoll types present problems to human settlers, because they consist entirely of limestone without other stones, have only very thin soil, and lack permanent fresh water.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.