the West Indies
noun/ðə ˌwest ˈɪndɪz/, /ðə ˌwest ˈɪndiːz/
/ðə ˌwest ˈɪndiːz/
[plural]- several groups of islands between the Caribbean and the Atlantic, that include the Antilles and the Bahamas
CultureThe islands lie between the south coast of the US and the north coast of South America, forming a line around the Caribbean Sea. There are about 1 200 islands in all. They include Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Dominica, St Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago. Many of the islands in the West Indies used to belong to Britain and are now members of the Commonwealth.
See the West Indies in the Oxford Advanced American DictionaryCheck pronunciation:
the West Indies