An arm of the western Atlantic Ocean bounded by the coasts of Central and South America and the West Indies. It has been an important shipping route since the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. Its many islands and tropical climate make the Caribbean a major tourist area. the Caribbean Sea the Caribbean the sea between Central America, South America, and the Caribbean islands, west of the Atlantic Ocean. Arm of the Atlantic Ocean
an arm of the Atlantic Ocean between North and South America; the origin of the Gulf stream