Middle Passage

noun

: the forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas

Examples of Middle Passage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The obsession with lineage is at odds with the solidarity of the Middle Passage, which created new forms of kinship. Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025 Tragically, Hunt notes, the same global commodity that may have helped liberate British women did the opposite for West Africans, who endured the Middle Passage in ever larger numbers to work as slaves in the Caribbean sugar fields and sweeten English tea. Marjoleine Kars, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025 Then, the artist Alisa Sikelianos-Carter, her work and going back to the Middle Passage and all of the materials, her work is similar to a local artist, Andrea Chung, who lives here in San Diego. Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Feb. 2025 Genetics is also adding to local records' searches to track migrations since a family's Middle Passage arrival in the Americas. Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 26 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for Middle Passage

Word History

First Known Use

1788, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Middle Passage was in 1788

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Cite this Entry

“Middle Passage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Middle%20Passage. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

Middle Passage

noun
: the forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas

More from Merriam-Webster on Middle Passage

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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