Sanction has two nearly opposite meanings: to sanction can be to approve of something, but it can also mean to punish, or speak harshly to. Likewise, a sanction can be a punishment or approval. Very confusingââthe person who invented this word should be publicly sanctioned! See if you can guess the meaning of sanction in the following contexts.
Artist's rendering of concept for the Bering Strait bridge. The Bering Strait was last crossed by humans 20,000 years ago during the ice age, when ice formed a bridge between North America and Asia. Today, 47 miles and some of the harshest ocean and arctic conditions separate the two continents. However, there are many who believe there would be great economical, sociological, and political value in connecting the two land masses by bridge or tunnel.
The Bering land bridge is a postulated route of human migration to the Americas from Asia about 20,000 years ago. An open corridor through the ice-covered North American Arctic was too barren to support human migrations before around 12,600 years ago.