1. a small island republic on the Tuvalu islands; formerly part of the British colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands until it withdrew in 1975 and became independent of the United Kingdom in 1978 • Instance Hypernyms: country, state, land • Part Holonyms: Ellice Islands • Part Meronyms: Funafuti 2. a group of coral islands in Micronesia to the southwest of Hawaii • Syn: Ellice Islands • Instance Hypernyms: archipelago • Part Holonyms: Micronesia, Federated States of Micronesia, TT
