North America

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).

North America

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)

North America

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

Other Words From

• North American adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of North America¹

First recorded in 1680–90

Example Sentences

The company discontinued mineral-based talc in North America in 2020 - and followed suit in the UK last year - replacing it with cornstarch.

From BBC

Similar atmospheric river events - when small regions of moisture travel outside tropical regions - have occurred throughout North America over the last few weeks.

From BBC

“The Gull Guide: North America” is a book for people who agree that gulls deserve better than their unflattering reputation.

From Salon

News of the arrival of the scarlet tanager - more usually found in the forests of North America - broke last weekend, sending birdwatchers into a state of excitement.

From BBC

Further south, though, a new China-backed megaport has the potential to create whole new trade routes that will bypass North America entirely.

From BBC