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cay

cay

5 9.0
A small sandy island on a coral reef in warm seas
  • noun
  • /keɪ/
translation icon : cayo
  • After a long day of sailing, we anchored near a deserted cay to enjoy the sunset.

So later on when he wants to get out, Diego starts working on Norman's Cay in the Bahamas on that island.

Examples

  • Since 1972, a modest facility of three buildings at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize, has been the site for studies of biodiversity, food chain ecology, nutrient cycling, ecophysiology, and habitat mapping using satellite imagery.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The diver explored the vibrant coral reef surrounding the small cay in the Caribbean.

  • An old lady over on cat cay thought she saw a raft out here yesterday with a man on it.

  • The island was called Whale Cay.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Norman's Cay is an island.

  • We're on the southwest end of Salt Cay awaiting your instructions, over.

  • Wind, waves, and reef block our passage to Carrie Bow Cay.

    Blog text (3)
  • Their journey was taking them over a tapestry of shoals, atolls, coral cays, and true continental islands.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Far away on the edge of Dickie's Cay, hot sun and jelly-green water wrap around me like wings, and inside, a slumbering bird stirs and opens one blue eye.

    Academic text (2010)
  • Over the next several years, I would spend spring vacation on the tiny coral island of Carrie Bow Cay, trying to understand the origins and dynamics of thimble jellyfish swarms.

    Academic text (1991)

Synonyms

key
vscay
  • US
80 8.3

A small low island often with sand and surrounded by sea

is the general tropical coral-reef sand island not limited to Florida
Florida key
vscay
  • US
1 4.7

A small low island of coral or limestone off the southern coast of Florida

is a sandy tropical reef island type not specific to Florida or limestone
cayo
vscay
9.8

A small low island in the Caribbean made from coral with sandy beaches

is the same tropical coral-reef sand island but not limited to the Caribbean

How Big

continent
267 1.0
island
1.0
cay
5 9.0
islet
7 6.8

Surface Forms

cay singular
cays plural

Etymology

Cay comes from the Spanish cayo, which itself comes from a Taíno word, the language of the Caribbean islands, meaning 'low, sandy island'. Think of the Florida Keys, which are small, flat islands on coral reefs, and that is why cay means a tiny sandy island formed on a reef.