part of the Atlantic, bounded by the West Indies, Central America, and the N coast of South America: 971,400 sq mi (2,515,916 sq km)
See Caribbean Sea in American Heritage Dictionary 4
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.