Panama Canal

American

noun

a canal extending southeast from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean across the Isthmus of Panama. 40 miles (64 kilometers) long.

Panama Canal British

noun

a canal across the Isthmus of Panama, linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans: extends from Colón on the Caribbean Sea southeast to Balboa on the Gulf of Panama; built by the US (1904–14), after an unsuccessful previous attempt (1880–89) by the French under de Lesseps. Length: 64 km (40 miles)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Panama Canal Cultural

Waterway across the Isthmus of Panama. The canal connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. The United States built it from 1904 to 1914 on territory leased from Panama.

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Conflict between the United States and Panama has centered on control of the canal; a treaty was signed in 1977 returning control of the Canal Zone to Panama in 2000. Since that time, Panama has agreed to neutral operation of the canal.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Hong Kong has formally complained to the government of Panama after it took control of two ports on the Panama Canal.

From BBC

The Panama Canal was built by the United States, which operated it for a century before ceding control to Panama in 1999.

From Barron's

The Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through Central America, handles about 40 percent of US container traffic.

From Barron's

Late last month, Panama’s Supreme Court annulled a contract for CK Hutchison to operate ports at either end of the Panama Canal.

From The Wall Street Journal

Panama’s Supreme Court of Justice declared late Thursday that two government contracts to operate ports at the mouths of the Panama Canal—Balboa on the Pacific and Cristóbal on the Atlantic—are unconstitutional.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023