Atoll Definition

ătôl, -ŏl, ātôl, ātŏl
atolls
noun
An island or chain of islets connected by a coral reef that nearly or entirely encloses a lagoon.
American Heritage
A ring-shaped coral island nearly or completely surrounding a lagoon.
Webster's New World

A type of island consisting of a ribbon reef that nearly or entirely surrounds a lagoon and supports, in most cases, one to many islets on the reef platform. Atolls have a unique geology, so not all islands with a reef and a lagoon are atolls.

Wiktionary
Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Atoll

Noun

Singular:
atoll
Plural:
atolls

Origin of Atoll

  • Dhivehi atholhu probably akin to Sinhalese ätul interior (from the interior lagoon) probably from Sanskrit antala- interior variant of antara- en in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Malayalam അതൊലു (atolu, “reef”) and Dhivehi އބތަލ (ab-tal), from Persian آب‌تل (āb-tal, “water-hillock”)

    From Wiktionary

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