CARIBBEAN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Caribbean mean? 

• CARIBBEAN (noun)
  The noun CARIBBEAN has 2 senses:

1. an arm of the Atlantic Ocean between North and South America; the origin of the Gulf stream

2. region including the Caribbean Islands

  Familiarity information: CARIBBEAN used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CARIBBEAN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An arm of the Atlantic Ocean between North and South America; the origin of the Gulf stream

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

Caribbean; Caribbean Sea

Instance hypernyms:

sea (a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land)

Meronyms (parts of "Caribbean"):

Caribbean Island (an island in the Caribbean Sea)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Region including the Caribbean Islands

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Instance hypernyms:

geographic area; geographic region; geographical area; geographical region (a demarcated area of the Earth)

Meronyms (parts of "Caribbean"):

Antigua and Barbuda (a country in the northern Leeward Islands)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; St. Vincent and the Grenadines (an island country in the central Windward Islands; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1979)

Saint Lucia; St. Lucia (a country on the island of Saint Lucia; gained independence from Great Britain in 1979)

Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Christopher-Nevis; Saint Kitts and Nevis; St. Christopher-Nevis; St. Kitts and Nevis (a country on several of the Leeward Islands; located to the east southeast of Puerto Rico; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1983)

Bahama Islands; Bahamas; Commonwealth of the Bahamas (island country in the Atlantic to the east of Florida and Cuba; a popular winter resort)

Commonwealth of Dominica; Dominica (a country on the island of Dominica)

Republic of Trinidad and Tobago; Trinidad and Tobago (an island republic in the West Indies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1962)

Barbados (a parliamentary democracy on the island of Barbados; former British colony; a popular resort area)

Jamaica (a country on the island of Jamaica; became independent of England in 1962; much poverty; the major industry is tourism)

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; Porto Rico; PR; Puerto Rico (a self-governing commonwealth associated with the United States occupying the island of Puerto Rico)

Dominican Republic (a republic in the West Indies; located on the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola)

Haiti; Republic of Haiti (a republic in the West Indies on the western part of the island of Hispaniola; achieved independence from France in 1804; the poorest and most illiterate nation in the western hemisphere)

Cuba; Republic of Cuba (a communist state in the Caribbean on the island of Cuba)

the Indies; West Indies (the string of islands between North America and South America; a popular resort area)

 Context examples 

Denotes a person having origins in one of the indigenous people of the Caribbean.

(Caribbean Indian, NCI Thesaurus)

A group of islands in the Caribbean Sea.

(Caribbean, NCI Thesaurus)

A substance from a type of tree called Guaiacum that grows in the Caribbean.

(Bulnesia sarmientoi Wood Oil, NCI Dictionary)

An island group in the Caribbean Sea, nearly one-half of the way from Cuba to Honduras.

(Cayman Islands, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

A cyclic depsipeptide extracted from the Caribbean tunicate Trididemnum cyanophorum.

(Didemnin B, NCI Thesaurus)

A country in Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras.

(Nicaragua, NCI Thesaurus)

Malaria is endemic in parts of Asia, Africa, Central and South America, Oceania, and certain Caribbean islands.

(Malaria, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

An island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Guadeloupe and north of Martinique.

(Dominica, NCI Thesaurus)

Three islands comprising the Caribbean portion of the Netherlands, north of Venezuela and east of Curacao.

(Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, NCI Thesaurus)

An island group in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba and west of Jamaica.

(Cayman Islands, NCI Thesaurus)