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.

---

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

---

Latin America Cultural  

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

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Latin American
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Latin America

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

Schneider was succeeded by Laurent Freixe, who joined Nestlé in 1986 and had been CEO of the company’s Latin America business since 2022.

From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026

That same year, world football's governing body Fifa had selected the USA to host the 1994 World Cup finals - the first time the tournament had gone to a country outside Europe or Latin America.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 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

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

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026

Within two years, there was no Soviet Empire to hide behind anymore or to prop up autocratic regimes in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, or Latin America.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman