a water route between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean along the northern coast of North America; Europeans since the 16th century had searched for a short route to the Far East before it was successfully traversed by Roald Amundsen (1903-1906)
权威例句
1.
The WMO reported that the seasonal minimum, reached on September 9, was 35% below the 1979-2000 average and the second-lowest on record with both the Northwest and Northeast passages ice free for periods during the summer.