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• continental
  continental

  adjective

  of or of the nature of a continent.
• Continental
  Continental

  adjective

  of or characteristic of Europe, excluding the British Isles

continental

American  

[kon-tn-en-tl] / ˌkɒn tnˈɛn tl /

adjective

1. of or of the nature of a continent.

2. (usually initial capital letter) of or relating to the mainland of Europe, to Europeans, or to European customs and attitudes.

3. (initial capital letter) of or relating to the 13 original American colonies during and immediately after the American Revolution.

4. of or relating to the continent of North America.

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noun

• continentals
  plural

1. (initial capital letter) a soldier of the Continental Army in the American Revolution.

2. a piece of paper currency issued by the Continental Congress during the American Revolution.

3. a small amount.

   advice that's not worth a continental.

4. an inhabitant of a continent.

5. (usually initial capital letter) an inhabitant of the mainland of Europe.

Continental British  

/ ˌkɒntɪˈnɛntəl /

adjective

1. of or characteristic of Europe, excluding the British Isles

2. of or relating to the 13 original British North American colonies during and immediately after the War of American Independence

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noun

1. (sometimes not capital) an inhabitant of Europe, excluding the British Isles

2. a regular soldier of the rebel army during the War of American Independence

3. history a currency note issued by the Continental Congress

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Continentalism
  noun
• Continentalist
  noun
• noncontinental
  adjective
• precontinental
  adjective
• continentally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• continentals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of continental

First recorded in 1750–60; continent + -al ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

continental Continental continentals

In fact, Ireland became the first European nation to guarantee religious freedom to Jewish people in 1937, when the continental current was, shall we say, running in a different direction.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

"To our knowledge, this is the first confirmed record of a living mesophotic coral ecosystem on the Gulf of Guinea continental shelf," said Zinzindohoué.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026

“The oceans are rising with each passing year. As that water becomes warmer, it thermally expands. More of the continental ice sheets melt. And it raises the sea level,” Swain said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Buenos Aires argues that the arrangement breaches Argentine law, which prohibits the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons on its continental shelf without government authorization.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

If I wanted to persuade you of continental drift, for example, I would point you to the classic papers on paleomagnetism and we could then go and make our measurements in the field.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

The remaining three are pipeline companies Oneok and Williams, both based in Tulsa, and oil-and-gas producer Continental Resources, in Oklahoma City.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Continental Shelf and will materially enhance its medium-term production outlook while supporting cash flow and dividend growth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

“We would expect Continental to guide towards the very top end of the FY26 range, particularly given that Q4 is not typically a seasonally weaker quarter,” they say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Researchers plan to analyze samples collected through the GOE-DEEP project, co-funded by the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

I crossed into New Mexico, rushed past Gallup in the night, and camped on the Continental Divide—and much more spectacular it is here than in the north.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

"If you don't do this and let the continentals get ahead, then they will start to undermine the cement ... which is clearing, settlement and transactions," Hodson said.

From Reuters ● Sep. 2, 2021

Britain used to be seen by continentals as quirky and occasionally awkward - but reliably pragmatic on the economy.

From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2017

Even among continentals, the post-Brexit fall of the pound seems to have compensated for whatever affront they may have taken.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 15, 2016

Spare a thought for the crazies the continentals are stuck with.

From Economist ● Jun. 1, 2012

The prejudice that islanders are supposed to learn from superior continentals wasn’t the sole reason why record-breaking Japanese pottery caused such a shock.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• global
• multicultural