continent

[kon-tn-uh nt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR continent ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

one of the main landmasses of the globe, usually reckoned as seven in number (Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica).

a comparable landmass on another planet.

the mainland, as distinguished from islands or peninsulas.

the Continent, the mainland of Europe, as distinguished from the British Isles.

a continuous tract or extent, as of land.

Archaic. something that serves as a container or boundary.

adjective

exercising or characterized by restraint in relation to the desires or passions and especially to sexual desires; temperate.

able to control urinary and fecal discharge.

Obsolete. containing; being a container; capacious.

Obsolete. restraining or restrictive.

Obsolete. continuous; forming an uninterrupted tract, as land.

Origin of continent

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin continent- (stem of continēns, present participle of continēre to contain), equivalent to con- con- + -tin-, combining form of ten- hold + -ent- -ent

Related formsun·con·ti·nent, adjectiveun·con·ti·nent·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for continents

estate, soil, terrain, home, earth, continent, ground, plot, district, area, field, homeland, territory, beach, province, parcel, countryside, acreage, tract, nation

Examples from the Web for continents

Contemporary Examples of continents

When the artist themselves is often continents away, those artistic decisions are made by the artisan.
Damien Hirst’s Army of Geppettos
Tim Teeman
December 2, 2014
With an unprecedented epidemic spreading across countries and continents, including our own, it should give us reason, too.
Meet the Liberian Girls Beating Ebola
Abby Haglage
October 29, 2014
In the seven months since the epidemic began, Ebola has spread across borders, countries, and now continents.
Why Isn't Silicon Valley Doing More to Fight Ebola?
Abby Haglage
October 8, 2014
Mars has no tectonic plates—no continents, in other words—and no ginormous moon.
The Best Map of Mars Yet
Matthew R. Francis
July 20, 2014
I ended up an investment banker at J.P. Morgan & Co, eventually serving as a managing director on three continents.
A Catholic Ex-Banker on Pope Francis’s Radical Views
Chris Lowney
December 15, 2013

Historical Examples of continents

The open sea, of the existence of which we are certified, must wash the shores of continents.
The Field of Ice
Jules Verne
It was natural to distinguish the two continents as South and North America.
Introductory American History
Henry Eldridge Bourne
Bitter wars have been fought in Europe for colonial 160 supremacy in other continents.
Mountain Meditations
L. Lind-af-Hageby
They overrun the seven continents and their respective seas.
Rosinante to the Road Again
John Dos Passos
The continents of the world have become vast, uninhabitable deserts.
Common Science
Carleton W. Washburne

British Dictionary definitions for continents

continent

noun

one of the earth's large land masses (Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, North and South America, and Antarctica)

that part of the earth's crust that rises above the oceans and is composed of sialic rocks. Including the continental shelves, the continents occupy 30 per cent of the earth's surface

obsolete

mainland as opposed to islands
a continuous extent of land

Derived Formscontinental (ˌkɒntɪˈnɛntəl), adjectivecontinentally, adverb

Word Origin for continent

C16: from the Latin phrase terra continens continuous land, from continēre; see contain

continent

adjective

able to control urination and defecation

exercising self-restraint, esp from sexual activity; chaste

Derived Formscontinence or continency, nouncontinently, adverb

Word Origin for continent

C14: from Latin continent-, present participle of continēre; see contain

Continent

noun

the Continent the mainland of Europe as distinguished from the British Isles

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

Word Origin and History for continents

continent

adj.

late 14c., "self-restraining," from Old French continent and directly from Latin continentem (nominative continens) "holding together, continuous," present participle of continere "hold together" (see contain). Meaning moved from "exercising self-restraint" to "chaste" 14c., and to bowel and bladder control 19c.

continent

"large land mass," 1550s, from continent land (mid-15c.), translating Latin terra continens "continuous land," from continens, present participle of continere (see continent (adj.)).

continents in Science

continent

[kŏn′tə-nənt]

One of the seven great landmasses of the Earth. The continents are Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.

continents in Culture

continents

The large parts of the surface of the Earth that rise above sea level. The seven major continents are Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.

Note

Continents are made from the lightest rocks in the Earth. Some of these are also the oldest known rocks on Earth, with an age of 3.5 billion years, measured by radioactive dating.

Note

According to the theory of plate tectonics, continents move along piggy-back on the tectonic plates like rafts floating on water.