Latin America

Proper noun

Latin America

1. (literally) Those parts of the Americas which speak Romance (Latin-derived) languages, namely Spanish, Portuguese, French, or creoles based on these.
2. (most often) A continental region consisting of those parts of the Americas located south of the United States where Spanish or Portuguese is predominantly spoken; sometimes including areas speaking French or French-based creoles.
   • Young Indians looking for work opportunities have made up a sizeable portion of undocumented migrants in the US, many after making the dangerous trek through Latin America to reach the US southern border.2025 February 7, Esha Mitra, Aishwarya S Iyer and Ross Adkin, “‘Treated like criminals’: Shackling of Indians aboard 40-hour migrant flight sparks new outrage against Trump”, in CNN
3. (broadly, by narrowing) Ibero-America (excluding all French-speaking areas).
4. (broadly, by broadening) umbrella term for South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean (including English and Dutch-speaking areas).