Definition of continent Continent

/kɑˈntʌnʌnt/ - [kantununt] - Con•ti•nent

We found 19 definitions of continent from 8 different sources.

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What does continent mean?

WordNet

WordNet by Princeton University

Noun

Plural: continents

continent - one of the large landmasses of the earth; "there are seven continents"; "pioneers had to cross the continent on foot"
  land mass, landmass a large continuous extent of land
  craton the part of a continent that is stable and forms the central mass of the continent; typically Precambrian
continent - the European mainland; "Englishmen like to visit the Continent but they wouldn't like to live there"
  europe the nations of the European continent collectively; "the Marshall Plan helped Europe recover from World War II"

Adjective

continent - having control over urination and defecation
continent - abstaining from sexual intercourse; "celibate priests"
  celibate
  chaste morally pure (especially not having experienced sexual intercourse); "a holy woman innocent and chaste"
= synonym
= antonym
= related word

Wiktionary Wiktionary dictionary logo

  • continent (Noun)
    Land as opposed to the water.
  • continent (Noun)
    A large contiguous landmass considered independent of its islands, peninsulas etc. Specifically, the Old World continent of Europe–Asia–Africa. See the Continent .
  • continent (Noun)
    Each of the main continuous land-masses on the earth's surface, now generally regarded as seven in number, including their related islands, continental shelf s etc.
  • continent (Adjective)
    Exercising self-restraint; controlled, temperate with respect to one's bodily needs or passions.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

  • continent (a.)
    Serving to restrain or limit; restraining; opposing.
  • continent (a.)
    Exercising restraint as to the indulgence of desires or passions; temperate; moderate.
  • continent (a.)
    Abstaining from sexual intercourse; exercising restraint upon the sexual appetite; esp., abstaining from illicit sexual intercourse; chaste.
  • continent (a.)
    Not interrupted; connected; continuous; as, a continent fever.
  • continent (a.)
    That which contains anything; a receptacle.
  • continent (a.)
    One of the grand divisions of land on the globe; the main land; specifically (Phys. Geog.), a large body of land differing from an island, not merely in its size, but in its structure, which is that of a large basin bordered by mountain chains; as, the continent of North America.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

  • continent
    A protuberance of the Earth's crustal shell, with an area of several million square miles and sufficient elevation so that much of it above sea level.

Chambers DictionaryChamber's 20th Century Dictionary 📕

  • continent
    kon′ti-nent, n. a large extent of land not broken up by seas: the mainland of Europe: one of the great divisions of the land surface of the globe.—adj. restraining the indulgence of pleasure, esp. sexual: temperate: virtuous.—ns. Con′tinence, Con′tinency, the restraint imposed by a person upon his desires and passions: self-restraint in sexual indulgence, often absolute: chastity.—adj. Continent′al, characteristic of a continent, as of climate, &c.: pertaining to the European continent, or to the colonies of North America at the period of independence.—n. Continent′alism, anything peculiar to the usage of the Continent.—adv. Con′tinently.—Continental system, the name given to Napoleon's plan for shutting out England from all commercial connection with Europe. [L. continentemcontinēre, to contain—con, together, tenĕre, to hold.]

Sailor's Word-BookThe Sailor's Word-Book

  • continent
    In geography, a large extent of land which is not entirely surrounded by water, or separated from other lands by the sea, as Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is also used in contradistinction to island, though America seems insulated.

Wikipedia Wiktionary dictionary logo

  • A continent is a large area of the land on Earth that is joined together. People do not agree about how many continents there are.

    In general it is agreed there are seven continents.

    Oceania is a region which includes Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Some say that Oceania is not a continent but it is often treated like one. Other groups believe that it is a continent and that Australia is just a part of this continent and not its own continent.

    Some say that North America and South America are one continent. Some say that Europe and Asia are only parts of a continent called Eurasia. Some even say that Eurasia and Africa are one continent called Eurafrasia.

    When British people talk about "the Continent" (or "Continental") they mean the European mainland. This meaning is not used as much as it used to be, but is still seen in phrases like "Continental breakfast" (rolls with cheese, jam etc as distinct from an "English breakfast" which is a cooked breakfast).

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Sign Language

continent in sign language
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