Isthmus

//ˈɪsθ.məs// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A narrow strip of land, bordered on both sides by water, and connecting two larger landmasses.
  2. 2
    a cord-like tissue connecting two larger parts of an anatomical structure wordnet
  3. 3
    Any such narrow part connecting two larger structures.
  4. 4
    a relatively narrow strip of land (with water on both sides) connecting two larger land areas wordnet
  5. 5
    An edge in a graph whose deletion increases the number of connected components of the graph.

Example

More examples

"The Panama Canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama."

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin isthmus (“a strip of land between two seas”), from Ancient Greek ῐ̓σθμός (ĭsthmós, “neck, narrow passage”), possibly from εἶμῐ (eîmĭ, “to go”). Cognate to Old Norse eið (“isthmus”).

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.