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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.


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

"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

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:

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

They are, but one doesn't want a cut and dried program for a cruise about the Spanish Main.

From The Coast of Adventure by Bindloss, Harold

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