CENTRAL AMERICA

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Central America mean? 

• CENTRAL AMERICA (noun)
  The noun CENTRAL AMERICA has 2 senses:

1. the isthmus joining North America and South America; extends from the southern border of Mexico to the northern border of Colombia

2. the nations of Central America collectively

  Familiarity information: CENTRAL AMERICA used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CENTRAL AMERICA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The isthmus joining North America and South America; extends from the southern border of Mexico to the northern border of Colombia

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Instance hypernyms:

isthmus (a relatively narrow strip of land (with water on both sides) connecting two larger land areas)

Meronyms (parts of "Central America"):

Central American country; Central American nation (any one of the countries occupying Central America; these countries (except for Belize and Costa Rica) are characterized by low per capita income and unstable governments)

Costa Rica; Republic of Costa Rica (a republic in Central America; one of the most politically stable countries in Latin America. In Spanish, Costa Rica means Rich Coast (Costa means Coast, Rica means Rich))

Guatemala; Republic of Guatemala (a republic in Central America; achieved independence from Spain in 1821; noted for low per capita income and illiteracy; politically unstable)

Belize; British Honduras (a country on the northeastern coast of Central America on the Caribbean; formerly under British control)

Honduras; Republic of Honduras (a republic in Central America; achieved independence from Spain in 1821; an early center of Mayan culture)

El Salvador; Republic of El Salvador; Salvador (a republic on the Pacific coast of Central America)

Nicaragua; Republic of Nicaragua (a republic in Central America; achieved independence from Spain in 1821)

Meronyms (members of "Central America"):

Central American (a native or inhabitant of Central America)

Holonyms ("Central America" is a part of...):

Latin America (the parts of North America and South America to the south of the United States where Romance languages are spoken)

America (North America and South America and Central America)

North America (a continent (the third largest) in the western hemisphere connected to South America by the Isthmus of Panama)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The nations of Central America collectively

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("Central America" is a kind of...):

accumulation; aggregation; assemblage; collection (several things grouped together or considered as a whole)

Meronyms (members of "Central America"):

American (a native or inhabitant of a North American or Central American or South American country)

 Context examples 

A country in Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras.

(El Salvador, NCI Thesaurus)

A new understanding of temperature controls on tree-soil interactions was only possible with a large team to replicate the study at field sites spanning North and Central America.

(From tropical to boreal ecosystems, temperature drives functioning, National Science Foundation)

But you should be aware of it if you are traveling to the Middle East or parts of Central America, South America, Asia, Africa or southern Europe.

(Leishmaniasis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

The incidence of eye lesions has been reported to be as high as 30% in Central America and parts of Africa.

(Ocular Onchocerciasis, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

His name was a terror through all Central America.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

South and Central America are particularly strongly influenced by El Niño and this can have both negative and positive consequences for crops, the study showed.

(El Niño linked to widespread crop failures, SciDev.Net)

A country in Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US.

(Mexico, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

A country in Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Nicaragua.

(Honduras, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

New World leishmaniasis, also called American leishmaniasis, occurs in South and Central America and is caused by species of the L. mexicana or L. braziliensis complexes.

(Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.

(American Indian or Alaska Native, NCI Thesaurus)