Panama Canal

American  

noun

1. a canal extending southeast from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean across the Isthmus of Panama. 40 miles (64 kilometers) long.

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Panama Canal British  

noun

1. a canal across the Isthmus of Panama, linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans: extends from Colón on the Caribbean Sea southeast to Balboa on the Gulf of Panama; built by the US (1904–14), after an unsuccessful previous attempt (1880–89) by the French under de Lesseps. Length: 64 km (40 miles)

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Panama Canal Cultural  

1. Waterway across the Isthmus of Panama. The canal connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. The United States built it from 1904 to 1914 on territory leased from Panama.

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Conflict between the United States and Panama has centered on control of the canal; a treaty was signed in 1977 returning control of the Canal Zone to Panama in 2000. Since that time, Panama has agreed to neutral operation of the canal.

Example Sentences

The Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through Central America, handles about 40 percent of US container traffic.

From Barron's

Late last month, Panama’s Supreme Court annulled a contract for CK Hutchison to operate ports at either end of the Panama Canal.

From The Wall Street Journal

Panama’s Supreme Court of Justice declared late Thursday that two government contracts to operate ports at the mouths of the Panama Canal—Balboa on the Pacific and Cristóbal on the Atlantic—are unconstitutional.

From The Wall Street Journal

The ports on the Panama Canal, for example, are less than critical for Beijing because only one-fifth of the traffic through the waterway goes to China.

From Barron's

The ports on the Panama Canal, for example, are less than critical for Beijing because only one-fifth of the traffic through the waterway goes to China.

From Barron's