Pan-American

American

[pan-uh-mer-i-kuhn] / ˌpæn əˈmɛr ɪ kən /

adjective

of, relating to, or representing all the countries or people of North, Central, and South America.

Pan-American British

adjective

of, relating to, or concerning North, South, and Central America collectively or the advocacy of political or economic unity among American countries

"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

Pan-Americanism

noun

Etymology

Origin of Pan-American

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90

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:

Pan-American

He is one of its greatest cultural coalitionists, fusing Pan-American sounds — hip-hop, Jamaican reggae, Haitian kompa, gospel, salsa, folk — into music that is party-ready and politically alert.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026

The incident happened in the early hours of Wednesday morning on a "rugged" stretch of the Pan-American Highway that connects Peru with Chile in the country's southern region of Arequipa.

From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2025

After three months away, Dudamel is back for a month to revive ‘Fidelio’ and oversee his Pan-American Music Initiative.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2024

Martínez won his first Pan-American silver medal in skeet shooting when the event was held in Caracas in 1983, one year before he competed at the Los Angeles Olympics.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 12, 2024

“Every bit of it. From the Pan-American highway to those mountaintops over there. You see them?”

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

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