former U.S. trust territory in the W Pacific, consisting of the Caroline & Marshall Islands: trusteeship terminated in 1990
See Pacific Islands in American Heritage Dictionary 4
, Trust Territory of the
A group of more than 2,000 islands and islets of the northwest Pacific Ocean administered by the United States as a United Nations trust territory from 1947 to 1978. It originally included the Caroline, Marianas (excluding Guam), and Marshall islands. Most parts of the territory, including Palau, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands, are now self-governing.