continental shelf

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See synonyms for continental shelf on Thesaurus.com

noun Physical Geography.

the part of a continent that is submerged in relatively shallow sea.

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Origin of continental shelf

First recorded in 1940–45

Words nearby continental shelf

continental philosophy, continental quilt, continental rift, continental rise, continental seating, continental shelf, continental slope, continental system, continental United States, continently, continents

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use continental shelf in a sentence

Typically when biologists track turtles from their nesting beaches on small islands, most wind up in coastal territory, having paddled across the open ocean until hitting a continental shelf and then turning left or right.
How Sea Turtles Find Their Way - Issue 94: Evolving|Jason G. Goldman|December 16, 2020|Nautilus
But by far the most interesting object, which held enormous fascination for me, sat high up on the top shelf.
My Love Letter to the Stetson|Mark McKinnon|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And much of it, unlike Pappy, is right there on the shelf, humbly, quietly waiting to be tried.
The Cult of Pappy van Winkle|Eric Felten|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is the omphalos, this city that straddles two steamboat rivers at the continental crossroads.
Those Kansas City Blues: A Family History|Katie Baker|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The men preside over three display cases, each with three shelves, seven comic books per shelf.
The Holy Grail of Comic Books Hid in Plain Site at New York Comic Con|Sujay Kumar|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On the top shelf, sandwiched between Detective Comics No.27 and Superman No.1, are three issues of Actions Comics No.1.
The Holy Grail of Comic Books Hid in Plain Site at New York Comic Con|Sujay Kumar|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sweden excluded British goods, conformably to the continental system established by Bonaparte.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
On a shelf near one of these windows stood the little Madonna, again wreathed with vines as in San Pasquale.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
It has long been the custom for advertisers in the continental journals to typify their wares.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
The walls were painted blue, the skirting almost a third of the height, and so wide at the top as to form a narrow shelf.
The Daisy Chain|Charlotte Yonge
After 1815 the continental visits were resumed, and the practice of smoking began steadily to increase.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.

British Dictionary definitions for continental shelf

continental shelf

noun

the sea bed surrounding a continent at depths of up to about 200 metres (100 fathoms), at the edge of which the continental slope drops steeply to the ocean floor

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for continental shelf

continental shelf

The part of the edge of a continent between the shoreline and the continental slope. It is covered by shallow ocean waters and has a very gentle slope.

Cultural definitions for continental shelf

continental shelf

The region adjoining the coastline of a continent, where the ocean is no more than a few hundred feet deep. The shelf is built up from sediments washed down to the sea by rivers.

notes for continental shelf

The continental shelves are often valuable because of the mineral resources and abundant marine life found there. (See offshore drilling.)

continental shelf

Origin of continental shelf

Words nearby continental shelf

Words related to continental shelf

How to use continental shelf in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for continental shelf

Scientific definitions for continental shelf

Cultural definitions for continental shelf

notes for continental shelf