North America

noun

1. the northern continent of the Western Hemisphere, extending from Central America to the Arctic Ocean. Highest point, Denali, 20,300 feet (6,187 meters); lowest, Death Valley, 276 feet (84 meters) below sea level. About 9,360,000 square miles (24,242,400 square kilometers).

North America

noun

1. the third largest continent, linked with South America by the Isthmus of Panama and bordering on the Arctic Ocean, the N Pacific, the N Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean. It consists generally of a great mountain system (the Western Cordillera) extending along the entire W coast, actively volcanic in the extreme north and south, with the Great Plains to the east and the Appalachians still further east, separated from the Canadian Shield by an arc of large lakes (Great Bear, Great Slave, Winnipeg, Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario); reaches its greatest height of 6194 m (20 320 ft) in Mount McKinley, Alaska, and its lowest point of 85 m (280 ft) below sea level in Death Valley, California, and ranges from snowfields, tundra, and taiga in the north to deserts in the southwest and tropical forests in the extreme south. Pop: 332 156 000 (2005 est). Area: over 24 000 000 sq km (9 500 000 sq miles)

North America

1. Third-largest continent (after Asia and Africa), comprising Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central America.

Other Word Forms

• North American adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of North America¹

First recorded in 1680–90

Example Sentences

It has more than 100 locations in North America, including at Los Angeles International Airport and airports in Santa Monica, Burbank and Long Beach.

From Los Angeles Times

“Two-thirds of American adults drink coffee every day,3 which can add up quickly, especially these days,” said Holly Ramsden, Head of Coffee, North America at the Kraft Heinz Company.

From Salon

One Beverly Hills is one of the biggest real estate developments by cost under construction in North America, Goldstein said.

From Los Angeles Times

It operates 1,300 stores in North America and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

From Los Angeles Times

The zoo has a breeding program administered by the nonprofit Assn. of Zoos and Aquariums that is designed to increase the genetic diversity of the chimpanzee population in North America, the release states.

From Los Angeles Times