continental

[ kon-tn-en-tl ]
See synonyms for continental on Thesaurus.com
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.

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

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

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.

  1. a small amount: advice that's not worth a continental.

  2. an inhabitant of a continent.

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

Origin of continental

1
First recorded in 1750–60; continent + -al1

Other words from continental

  • con·ti·nen·tal·ly, adverb
  • non·con·ti·nen·tal, adjective, noun
  • pre·con·ti·nen·tal, adjective

Words Nearby continental

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use continental in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Continental

Continental

/ (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

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

  1. US history a currency note issued by the Continental Congress

Derived forms of Continental

  • Continentalism, noun
  • Continentalist, noun

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