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

Earlier this year, Panama’s Supreme Court voided CK Hutchison’s contract to operate two ports at either end of the Panama Canal, allowing the government to seize the assets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

Hong Kong has formally complained to the government of Panama after it took control of two ports on the Panama Canal.

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026

The Panama Canal was built by the United States, which operated it for a century before ceding control to Panama in 1999.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

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

From Barron's • Feb. 4, 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