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• continent
  continent

  noun

  one of the main landmasses of the globe, usually reckoned as seven in number (Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica).
• Continent
  Continent

  noun

  the mainland of Europe as distinguished from the British Isles

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continent

American  

[kon-tn-uhnt] / ˈkɒn tn ənt /

noun

• continents
  plural

1. one of the main landmasses of the globe, usually reckoned as seven in number (Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica).

2. a comparable landmass on another planet.

3. the mainland, as distinguished from islands or peninsulas.

4. the Continent, the mainland of Europe, as distinguished from the British Isles.

5. a continuous tract or extent, as of land.

6. Archaic. something that serves as a container or boundary.

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adjective

1. exercising or characterized by restraint in relation to the desires or passions and especially to sexual desires; temperate.

2. able to control urinary and fecal discharge.

3. Obsolete. containing; being a container; capacious.

4. Obsolete. restraining or restrictive.

5. Obsolete. continuous; forming an uninterrupted tract, as land.

Continent ¹ British  

/ ˈkɒntɪnənt /

noun

1. the mainland of Europe as distinguished from the British Isles

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continent ² British  

/ ˈkɒntɪnənt /

adjective

1. able to control urination and defecation

2. exercising self-restraint, esp from sexual activity; chaste

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continent ³ British  

/ ˈkɒntɪnənt /

noun

1. one of the earth's large land masses (Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, North and South America, and Antarctica)

2. 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

3. obsolete

   1. mainland as opposed to islands

   2. a continuous extent of land

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continent Scientific  

/ kŏn′tə-nənt /

1. One of the seven great landmasses of the Earth. The continents are Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• continence
  noun
• continental
  adjective
• uncontinent
  adjective
• continentally
  adverb
• continently
  adverb
• uncontinently
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• continents
  plural

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”; see contain

Explanation

A continent is one of the seven largest landmasses found on Earth. Asia, Australia, and Africa are three continents. Can you name the other four? Some folks forget the continent of Antarctica, because so few humans live there—none of them permanently. And you might be surprised how many people think that Africa is a country and not a continent. Due to a process known as continental drift, the extremely slow movement of the continents across the face of the globe, our world looks very different from the way it did 100 million years ago.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

continent Continent continents

Meanwhile France, the second-biggest European economy and a net contributor to the budget, argues the continent needs sufficient means to match the rising challenges the 27-country bloc faces.

From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026

"We're going to do as much as we feel we want to in a continent and then go to the next one," explained Tom.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

European stocks will be able to withstand heightened bond volatility as revenues on the continent improve, UBS Wealth Management said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

The African Peer Review Mechanism, the institution behind AfCRA, says 23 countries on the continent are not rated at all by the traditional agencies.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

The paradox—and a fearful paradox it is—is that the American Negro can have no future anywhere, on any continent, as long as he is unwilling to accept his past.

From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin

The heat is threatening harvests across the Continent, raising the spectre of soaring food prices.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Newcastle have shifted policy this summer, targeting younger players on the Continent, with Lukas Hornicek the club's oldest arrival by a reasonable distance at 24 years of age.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

The Continent trails far behind U.S. economic output.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026

European regulators are also feeling the heat, with the French start-up Mistral recently presenting in Brussels a 22-point plan to accelerate AI development on the Continent.

From Barron's ● Apr. 25, 2026

Perhaps a few weeks on the Continent, where she could put her sangfroid and multiple languages and wireless operator’s skills to much-needed use in Nazi-occupied France.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

The Melbourne Marathon was the third leg on Kipchoge's world tour, on which he hopes to complete a marathon on all seven continents, including Antarctica, over two years.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

They’re continents, but they are only in maps that are very secret.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

The company has since led trips across six continents with a crew of around 60 captains and chefs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

That water can help generate magma, which rises toward the surface and contributes to the volcanoes that help build continents.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026

And then the camera keeps zooming out, farther and farther, until you see all the oceans and continents on Planet Earth?

From "Maybe He Just Likes You" by Barbara Dee