Latin America

American  

[lat-n uh-mer-i-kuh] / ˈlæt n əˈmɛr ɪ kə /

noun

1. the part of the American continents south of the United States in which Spanish, Portuguese, or French is officially spoken.

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Latin America British  

noun

1. those areas of America whose official languages are Spanish and Portuguese, derived from Latin: South America, Central America, Mexico, and certain islands in the Caribbean

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Latin America Cultural  

1. A term applied to all of the Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking nations south of the United States.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Latin American
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Latin America

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

At the same time, Peru has had an average of almost one head of state per year, unprecedented in Latin America.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

“He’s a creature of the internet, his persona was built online,” said Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin America Program at the Stimson Center, a Washington-based policy group.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

Officials in the US and in Latin America have been combating the problem of screwworms for much of the past six decades, with limited success.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026

Latino storytellers and those from Latin America, at the TCL Chinese Theatre complex in Hollywood.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026

He had spent the years after college traveling around Asia, Latin America.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri