North America

American  

noun

1. the northern continent of the Western Hemisphere, extending from Central America to the Arctic Ocean. Highest point, Denali, 20,300 feet (6,187 meters); lowest, Death Valley, 276 feet (84 meters) below sea level. About 9,360,000 square miles (24,242,400 square kilometers).

---

North America British  

noun

1. the third largest continent, linked with South America by the Isthmus of Panama and bordering on the Arctic Ocean, the N Pacific, the N Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean. It consists generally of a great mountain system (the Western Cordillera) extending along the entire W coast, actively volcanic in the extreme north and south, with the Great Plains to the east and the Appalachians still further east, separated from the Canadian Shield by an arc of large lakes (Great Bear, Great Slave, Winnipeg, Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario); reaches its greatest height of 6194 m (20 320 ft) in Mount McKinley, Alaska, and its lowest point of 85 m (280 ft) below sea level in Death Valley, California, and ranges from snowfields, tundra, and taiga in the north to deserts in the southwest and tropical forests in the extreme south. Pop: 332 156 000 (2005 est). Area: over 24 000 000 sq km (9 500 000 sq miles)

---

North America Cultural  

1. Third-largest continent (after Asia and Africa), comprising Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central America.

---

Other Word Forms

• North American
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of North America

First recorded in 1680–90

Example Sentences

Because once the World Cup is done and dusted, the Nations League kicks-off in the autumn, with Portugal's first fixture after north America a home game with Wales.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

Shakira is currently performing in stadiums across north America as part of her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran tour, in support of her 12th studio album.

From BBC • May 30, 2025

Many went to other countries as school teachers or nurses, a trend that’s continued in more recent times, now also to Europe and north America, she said.

From Washington Times • Apr. 12, 2023

Gang of Youths are about to go on tour, with dates in Britain in March and from April in north America.

From Reuters • Feb. 25, 2022

Every where but to the north, America is surrounded with a vast ocean unbroken by any chain of islands that could connect it with the Old World.

From The Conquest of Canada (Vol. 1 of 2) by Warburton, George