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

See Examples For:

Panama Canal

Once in office, she championed issues that had mattered to him, including ceding control of the Panama Canal.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026

The operator of the Panama Canal cut the number of ships that can use the waterway from 36 to 34 as the return of El Niño threatens water levels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Both men were imperialists who saw the uncompleted Panama Canal as key to U.S. power.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

Ships are increasingly sailing through India and Sri Lanka, and through the Panama Canal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

A familiar example is the role of those two diseases in aborting the French effort, and nearly aborting the ultimately successful American effort, to construct the Panama Canal.

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