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

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

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

Etymology

Origin of continental

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

Example Sentences

The reader doesn’t discover much about how Mansfield’s work was shaped by changing personal circumstances, from hectic bohemia to a series of continental spas, and learns too little about Mansfield’s achievements as a literary provocateur.

From The Wall Street Journal

On the field, they are often too physically imposing for their continental rivals.

From Barron's

To identify detailed pollution patterns, the team divided the continental United States into a grid made up of 4 kilometer by 4 kilometer squares.

From Science Daily

"You can take a map of continental Europe, put it on the Canadian Arctic, and there's room to spare," Pierre Leblanc, the former commander of the Canadian Forces Northern Area told the BBC.

From BBC

Multiple US states declared states of emergency as meteorologists said the storm would soon begin marching across much of the continental US, covering a wide swath of the country's middle including the Rockies and Plains.

From Barron's

Related Words

• global
• multicultural