continents

Cultural  

1. 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.

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

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.

Example Sentences

The word began travelling to other continents at the same time the sport itself was spreading, and soccer is now often used in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada.

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026

With an estimated audience of some 350 million people on five continents, it was flower power’s finest moment.

From Salon • Jun. 4, 2026

"For this work we focused initially on deposits that were formed after the main phases of breakup of Earth's big continents," said Gibson.

From Science Daily • May 26, 2026

Swatch was forced to close stores on three continents over the weekend after fans and watch profiteers overwhelmed the debut of the manufacturer’s tie-up with luxury brand Audemars Piguet.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

These facts suggest the interpretation that Clovis sites document the Americas’ first colonization by people, who quickly multiplied, expanded, and filled the two continents.

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