middle passage

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

mid′dle pas′sage, [Hist.]

1. World History the part of the Atlantic Ocean between the west coast of Africa and the West Indies: the longest part of the journey formerly made by slave ships.

Also, Mid′dle Pas′sage. 

• 1780–90

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

middle passage noun

1. the middle passage ⇒ the journey across the Atlantic Ocean from the W coast of Africa to the Caribbean: the longest part of the journey of the slave ships sailing to the Caribbean or the Americas