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).

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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)

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North America Cultural  

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

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Other Word Forms

• North American adjective

Etymology

Origin of North America

First recorded in 1680–90

Example Sentences

Driving the Porsche 911 Cup for GMG Racing in the Mobil Pro Class, the 22-year-old Australian led from start to finish in Race 1 of the Carrera Cup North America on Saturday.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2026

The company is courting these customers with a wider selection of higher-priced items—think $5—and stores in more affluent areas like Plano, Texas, where the retailer opened its 9,000th store in North America last year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

It is one of the highest-altitude golf courses in North America, and LIV golfers took deep breaths before answering press questions about reports that the organization was on the verge of collapse.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

STOCKHOLM—Ericsson expects networks growth despite reporting a sales drop in North America in the first quarter and warning that the cost of components is rising.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

“Like saying that Columbus was the first explorer to land on North America, when he didn’t even land on North America, and the first explorer was Leif Ericson. And that one is also true.”

From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia