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

Lately his focus has been on Venezuela and South America, but North America is also in his sights.

From Los Angeles Times

Greenland's location between North America and the Arctic makes it well placed for early warning systems in the event of missile attacks.

From BBC

Available flight records show they have been primarily active in North America over the last two years.

From BBC

Monroe has already deployed $3.2 billion of the latest fundraising across roughly 130 transactions, primarily involving companies domiciled in North America.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Our collaboration with Microsoft is a strong example of how we’re continuing to drive growth, investment, and collaborations here in the U.S.,” said Paul Thomas, president of Bosch in North America.

From The Wall Street Journal