transcontinental

[trans-kon-tn-en-tl]

adjective

1. passing or extending across a continent.

   a transcontinental railroad.

2. on the other, or far, side of a continent.

transcontinental

/ ˌtrænzkɒntɪˈnɛntəl /

adjective

1. crossing a continent

2. on or from the far side of a continent

Other Word Forms

• transcontinentally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of transcontinental¹

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55; trans- + continental

Example Sentences

The Pacific Railway Act chartered the first transcontinental railway, the Union Pacific.

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The blockbuster railroad combination, the largest deal so far this year, would create the nation’s first transcontinental railroad operator.

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Partly because of their remarkable transcontinental voyage between salt lakes, the grayish birds have inspired a close partnership between communities in California and Argentina.

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The village grew slowly until the transcontinental railroad arrived in 1876.

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The book falls short in its attempt to tie Yin Manor’s haunted nature to the exploitation of the thousands of Chinese migrants who built the Western half of the first transcontinental railroad, however.

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