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. Lual Mayen:

   To be able to ... represent the continent and represent the game for social impact, it gives me so much hope, it gives more refugees hope.

2. Pascal Lamy:

   I can understand that from his side but he has to think about the impact of this on the continent, i am quite convinced that at the end of the day, if you want a proper balanced, win-win relationship in the future, starting with tax competition is not the right way psychologically to prepare this negotiation.

3. Caroline Kisko:

   People showing in the UK will show on the continent because it's simple and straightforward. I think there are very, very few people who would fly their dogs to North America, certainly not Australia.

4. Vladimir Fortov:

   The idea is that basing on the new technology of high-speed rail transport we can build a new railway near the Trans-Siberian Railway with the opportunity to go to Chukotka and Bering Strait and then to the American continent.

5. Helen Jennings:

   Fashion from Africa is as diverse as fashion from any other continent and can not be pigeonholed any longer.

Images & Illustrations of continent

Popularity rank by frequency of use