atoll

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atoll

/ˈætɒl/ UK
/əˈtɒl/ UK
/ˈætɔl/ US
/ˈætɑl/ US
/ˈætoʊl/ US
/ˈeɪtɑl/ US
/ˈeɪtɔl/ US
/əˈtɑl/ US

Rhymes with -ɒl

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Portuguese atol, from Dhivehi އަތޮޅު (atoḷu), possibly from Prakrit *𑀲𑀁𑀢𑀻𑀞 (*saṃtīṭha), from Sanskrit सम्- (sam-) + तीर्थ (tīrtha) “level ford”. The traditional etymology from Persian آبتل (âb-tal, “water-hillock”) is unlikely.

noun atolls

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.

Translations

Every language

noun island

Español	atolón
日本語	環礁 kanshō
中文	環礁 /环礁 huánjiāo
Português	atol
Français	atoll
Deutsch	Atoll
Italiano	atollo
Ελληνικά	ατόλλη atólli
Română	atol
Русский	ато́лл atóll

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MLA

"atoll." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/atoll. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

atoll. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/atoll

Chicago

"atoll." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/atoll.

BibTeX

@misc{atoll_2026,
  title = {atoll},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/atoll},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}