Definitions for continent
ˈkɒn tn əntcon·ti·nent

Princeton's WordNet(3.33 / 6 votes)Rate this definition:

1. continent(noun)

   one of the large landmasses of the earth

   "there are seven continents"; "pioneers had to cross the continent on foot"

2. Continent(adj)

   the European mainland

   "Englishmen like to visit the Continent but they wouldn't like to live there"

3. continent(adj)

   having control over urination and defecation

4. celibate, continent(adj)

   abstaining from sexual intercourse

   "celibate priests"

Wiktionary(1.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Continent(Noun)

   An Encratite.

   Etymology: From continentem, noun use of present participle of continere.

2. Continent(ProperNoun)

   The Old World.

   Etymology: From continentem, noun use of present participle of continere.

3. Continent(ProperNoun)

   Mainland Europe, as seen from the British Isles.

   Etymology: From continentem, noun use of present participle of continere.

Webster Dictionary(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Continent(adj)

   serving to restrain or limit; restraining; opposing

   Etymology: [L. continens, prop., a holding together: cf. F. continent. See Continent, a.]

2. Continent(adj)

   exercising restraint as to the indulgence of desires or passions; temperate; moderate

   Etymology: [L. continens, prop., a holding together: cf. F. continent. See Continent, a.]

3. Continent(adj)

   abstaining from sexual intercourse; exercising restraint upon the sexual appetite; esp., abstaining from illicit sexual intercourse; chaste

   Etymology: [L. continens, prop., a holding together: cf. F. continent. See Continent, a.]

4. Continent(adj)

   not interrupted; connected; continuous; as, a continent fever

   Etymology: [L. continens, prop., a holding together: cf. F. continent. See Continent, a.]

5. Continent(adj)

   that which contains anything; a receptacle

   Etymology: [L. continens, prop., a holding together: cf. F. continent. See Continent, a.]

6. Continent(adj)

   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

   Etymology: [L. continens, prop., a holding together: cf. F. continent. See Continent, a.]

Freebase(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Continent

   A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with up to seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. In geology, continents are described by means of tectonic plates. Plate tectonics is the process and study of the movement, collision and division of continents, earlier known as continental drift.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. 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. continentem—continēre, to contain—con, together, tenĕre, to hold.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. 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.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Continent

   A defined and known area of land.

   There are many continents in the world.

   Submitted by MaryC on February 23, 2020  

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'continent' in Nouns Frequency: #1894

How to pronounce continent?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say continent in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of continent in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of continent in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of continent in a Sentence

1. Phillip Arnold:

   The Mesilla Valley here is one of the largest production areas in the continent, and for that matter in the world, to bring that type of pest in here could be devastating to the industry.

2. Manfred Weber:

   The numbers now are encouraging, if that works out, then I believe many Europeans will say, ‘OK, it was a bumpy ride and things didn’t work out at the start. But in the end we Europeans will be the first continent to be fully vaccinated,'.

3. Werner Faymann:

   Sticking refugees in trains and sending them somewhere completely different to where they think they're going reminds us of the darkest chapter of our continent's history.

4. Jason Stearns:

   Many look to Katumbi as someone who can uplift the Congo's reputation and Congolese dignity after years and years of humiliation, here's a man who's been able to make a Congolese team famous across the continent.

5. Katelyn Allers:

   If you're looking down at Earth from space, you could measure the speed of a continent as it rotates in and out of view and a different speed for the cloud as it rotates in and out of view. And that difference in speed occurs because wind has pushed that cloud relative to the surface.

Images & Illustrations of continent

Popularity rank by frequency of use