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Suez Canal

American  

noun

  1. a canal in NE Egypt, cutting across the Isthmus of Suez and connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. 107 miles (172 km) long.


Suez Canal British  

noun

  1. a sea-level canal in NE Egypt, crossing the Isthmus of Suez and linking the Mediterranean with the Red Sea: built (1854–69) by de Lesseps with French and Egyptian capital; nationalized in 1956 by the Egyptians. Length: 163 km (101 miles)

"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

Suez Canal Cultural  
  1. A canal connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas, completed in 1869 and long controlled by Great Britain. The opera Aïda by Giuseppe Verdi was written to honor the opening of the canal. (See Suez Canal crisis.)


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:

Saudi Arabia is also rerouting some of its oil through the Suez Canal.

From MarketWatch Jul. 29, 2026

The blockade and the attacks forced more Saudi barrels onto a longer, costlier and technically challenging journey through Egypt’s Suez Canal and around Africa.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 27, 2026

In 2021, a 1,300-foot containership called the Ever Given got stuck in the Suez Canal for six days, triggering massive disruption in global supply chains.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 21, 2026

Both companies have suspended shipping routes through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, the gateway to the canal, due to safety concerns related to the war and the volatile situation around Hormuz.

From MarketWatch Jun. 16, 2026

What happened was that the Khedive hired a sculptor to make that grand statue to greet ships as they entered the Suez Canal.

From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman

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