Mesoamerica

American

[mez-oh-uh-mer-i-kuh, mes-, mee-zoh-, -soh-] / ˌmɛz oʊ əˈmɛr ɪ kə, ˌmɛs-, ˌmi zoʊ-, -soʊ- /

Or Meso-America

noun

Anthropology, Archaeology. the area extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua in which diverse pre-Columbian civilizations flourished.
(loosely) Central America.

Mesoamerica British

/ ˌmɛsəʊəˈmɛrɪkə /

noun

another name for Central America

"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

Other Word Forms

Mesoamerican

adjective

Etymology

Origin of Mesoamerica

meso- + America

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.

See Examples For:

Mesoamerica

Until now it was thought that writing developed in Mesopotamia around 3,000 BCE, followed by hieroglyphics in Egypt and later in China and Mesoamerica.

From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2026

Mr. Darnielle’s happy place, clearly, is among the ancient Greeks and the gods of Mesoamerica.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025

Archaeological evidence suggests that cacao has been cultivated in Mesoamerica for at least 5,000 years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2025

Avocados have been a part of the Mexican diet since ancient Mesoamerica, but the Hass – the most popular variety worldwide today – was bred in modern California.

From Salon ● May 29, 2024

For instance, 95 percent of the cotton grown in the world today belongs to the cotton species Gossypium hirsutum, which was domesticated in prehistoric times in Mesoamerica.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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