islet

/ˈaɪ.lət/
noun
  1. A small island.
    • The map showed a cluster of islets near the coral reef.
    • Birds nested on the rocky islet just offshore.
    • We rowed our boat to a tiny islet covered with palm trees.
  2. A small isolated area or patch of something, especially in biology (e.g., islets of Langerhans in the pancreas).
    • The islets of gray matter in the brain are important for certain functions.
    • Scientists studied the islets of tissue in the organ under a microscope.
    • The pancreas contains islets of cells that produce insulin.
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