Antarctica

American  

[ant-ahrk-ti-kuh, -ahr-ti-] / æntˈɑrk tɪ kə, -ˈɑr tɪ- /

noun

1. the continent surrounding the South Pole: almost entirely covered by an ice sheet. About 5,000,000 sq. mi. (12,950,000 sq. km).

---

Antarctica British  

/ æntˈɑːktɪkə /

noun

1. a continent around the South Pole: consists of an ice-covered plateau, 1800–3000 m (6000 ft to 10 000 ft) above sea level, and mountain ranges rising to 4500 m (15 000 ft) with some volcanic peaks; average temperatures all below freezing and human settlement is confined to research stations. All political claims to the mainland are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty of 1959

---

Antarctica Cultural  

1. Continent surrounding the South Pole, located almost entirely within the Antarctic Circle. It is covered by an ice cap up to thirteen thousand feet thick.

---

Discover More

Antarctica is characterized by extremely low temperatures.

In 1911, Roald Amundsen became the first explorer to reach the South Pole, followed shortly thereafter by Robert Scott.

Example Sentences

Its first voyage was alongside the Discovery – a famous ship that had previously carried Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton on an expedition to Antarctica.

From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026

"Kank helps bridge a distributional gap for the Late Cretaceous of southern Patagonia, connecting known records from northern Patagonia and Antarctica, and showing that this family was dispersed across different latitudes of South America."

From Science Daily • May 29, 2026

The octopus appears to be the runt of the Megaleledonidae family, whose members are normally much larger and live in the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica.

From Barron's • May 25, 2026

These included updated corrections to satellite measurements that had gradually shifted after 2015, improved methods for measuring land movement at coastal tide gauges, and more accurate estimates of ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica.

From Science Daily • May 22, 2026

Much of the ice on the continent of Antarctica is actually a form of consolidated snow called firn.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong