Spanish Main

American  

noun

1. (formerly) the mainland of America adjacent to the Caribbean Sea, especially the area between the mouth of the Orinoco River and the Isthmus of Panama.

2. the Caribbean Sea: the route of the Spanish treasure galleons and a former haunt of pirates.

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Spanish Main British  

noun

1. the mainland of Spanish America, esp the N coast of South America from the Isthmus of Panama to the mouth of the Orinoco River, Venezuela

2. the Caribbean Sea, the S part of which in colonial times was the route of Spanish treasure galleons and the haunt of pirates

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Example Sentences

Some of the areas on the boil-water list were small, like the Spanish Main Travel Resort, an R.V. park in Hillsborough County, on the western side of the state.

From New York Times

Rigging piracy strike colors Spanish Main long boat bilge cog.

From Seattle Times

Tucked into the dimly lit underbelly of Disneyland’s New Orleans Square, the signature attraction takes guests on a voyage back in time to witness bloodthirsty pirates pillaging the Spanish Main.

From Los Angeles Times

Christopher Columbus stopped here in 1494, putting the island on the map of the Spanish Main along what would become a well-traveled route between Europe and the New World.

From National Geographic

Among the films screening on TCM are Alfred Hitchcock's 1939 thriller "Jamaica Inn"; four films she made with Wayne — 1963's "McLintock!," 1971's "Big Jake," "The Quiet Man" and Ford's 1957 biopic "The Wings of Eagles" — and such swashbucklers as 1947's "Sinbad the Sailor" and 1945's "The Spanish Main."

From Los Angeles Times