Spanish Main

American  

noun

1. (formerly) the mainland of America adjacent to the Caribbean Sea, especially the area between the mouth of the Orinoco River and the Isthmus of Panama.

2. the Caribbean Sea: the route of the Spanish treasure galleons and a former haunt of pirates.

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Spanish Main British  

noun

1. the mainland of Spanish America, esp the N coast of South America from the Isthmus of Panama to the mouth of the Orinoco River, Venezuela

2. the Caribbean Sea, the S part of which in colonial times was the route of Spanish treasure galleons and the haunt of pirates

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Spanish Main

Some of the areas on the boil-water list were small, like the Spanish Main Travel Resort, an R.V. park in Hillsborough County, on the western side of the state.

From New York Times ● Oct. 1, 2022

The West Indies and the Spanish Main By Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope, on the way to the West Indies, does complain rather a lot about such mundane troubles as seasickness and so on.

From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2012

One says the looting, another marooning, still another sings the praises of pirate grog, and a fourth insists it’s the Spanish Main.

From Scientific American ● Mar. 8, 2012

Lyle Tara yearned to sail the 3,000-odd miles to Cocos Island, off the Costa Rican coast, where legend says pirates of the Spanish Main used to bury Inca gold.

From Time Magazine Archive

The only one I have yet seen is in the possession of E. Falkner, Esq. of Fairfield near Liverpool, who received it with a few other rare birds from the Spanish Main.

From Zoological Illustrations, Volume I or Original Figures and Descriptions of New, Rare, or Interesting Animals by William Swainson

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