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

See Examples For:

Antarctica

He gained international recognition for his lunar research before moving to Cambridge University, where he analysed meteorites found in Antarctica that were believed to have come from Mars.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Almost two-thirds of the population of chinstrap penguins have disappeared from a remote volcanic island near Antarctica, aerial surveys suggest.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Ravier, Milei's spokesman, said the base would have no "warlike character but will function as the most important logistics hub in the South Atlantic, providing operational and scientific support for our geopolitical projection toward Antarctica."

From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026

Maybe you’ve wondered why Greenland and Africa look roughly the same size on such maps, when Africa is actually 14 times larger, or why Antarctica looks infinitely large, when that isn’t true in real life.

From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026

But this is the story of explorer Ernest Shackleton, and his twenty-seven men who survive years in Antarctica after their ship is crushed by ice, and she can’t help but get swept up into it.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti