continent
Americannoun
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one of the main landmasses of the globe, usually reckoned as seven in number (Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica).
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a comparable landmass on another planet.
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the mainland, as distinguished from islands or peninsulas.
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the Continent, the mainland of Europe, as distinguished from the British Isles.
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a continuous tract or extent, as of land.
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Archaic. something that serves as a container or boundary.
adjective
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exercising or characterized by restraint in relation to the desires or passions and especially to sexual desires; temperate.
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able to control urinary and fecal discharge.
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Obsolete. containing; being a container; capacious.
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Obsolete. restraining or restrictive.
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Obsolete. continuous; forming an uninterrupted tract, as land.
noun
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one of the earth's large land masses (Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, North and South America, and Antarctica)
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that part of the earth's crust that rises above the oceans and is composed of sialic rocks. Including the continental shelves, the continents occupy 30 per cent of the earth's surface
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obsolete
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mainland as opposed to islands
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a continuous extent of land
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adjective
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able to control urination and defecation
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exercising self-restraint, esp from sexual activity; chaste
noun
Other Word Forms
- continence noun
- continental adjective
- continentally adverb
- continently adverb
- uncontinent adjective
- uncontinently adverb
Etymology
Origin of continent
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin continent-, stem of continēns “holding together,” present participle of continēre “to hold together, keep in position,” equivalent to con- con- + -tinēre, combining form of tenēre “to hold”; contain
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He left his father, mother and siblings to pursue a basketball opportunity on another continent.
From Los Angeles Times
Macron’s promise of broader cooperation and more warheads marks the most concrete signal yet that France intends to spread its nuclear deterrence more widely across the continent.
Only about nine large impact structures are currently known on the continent, most of them much older and located in Brazil.
From Science Daily
“Flights from these hubs go to all continents,” he said.
From MarketWatch
French President Emmanual Macron is Monday to reveal his vision for how France's nuclear arsenal could bolster defence in Europe, with the continent scrambling to re-arm against an aggressive Russia and as Washington turns away.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
