Central America

noun

1. continental North America, S of Mexico, usually considered as comprising Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. 227,933 sq. mi. (590,346 sq. km).

Central America

noun

1. an isthmus joining the continents of North and South America, extending from the S border of Mexico to the NW border of Colombia and consisting of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Area: about 518 000 sq km (200 000 sq miles)

Central America

1. Region in the southernmost portion of North America, linked to South America by the Isthmus of Panama; includes Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.

The United States government has often taken the position that Central American affairs directly affect American interests. Accordingly, it has often provided financial and military aid to Central American governments and occasionally intervened militarily.

Countries in Central America (except for Belize and Costa Rica) are characterized by unstable governments and very low per capita income.

Other Word Forms

• Central American noun

Example Sentences

On Friday, an appeals court issued an emergency order stopping the deportation of a group of children bound for Central America.

From Salon

She said her family was originally from Central America but were now legal US citizens.

From BBC

Mexico, Central America, South America and Canada, questioning the man-made borders, land ownership, and criminalization of migration that has defined the political landscape.

From Los Angeles Times

It now extends through Texas and up through the southern High Plains, where the Ogallala aquifer is depended on for agriculture, and it spreads south, stretching throughout Mexico and into Central America.

From Salon

And throughout the decades before the Civil War, there were numerous “filibusters”: expeditions by private, freebooting U.S. citizens to take over portions of Central America, Mexico, Cuba and even Canada.

From Salon