continent

[ kon-tn-uhnt ]

noun

1. one of the main landmasses of the globe, usually reckoned as seven in number (Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica).
2. a comparable landmass on another planet.
3. the mainland, as distinguished from islands or peninsulas.
4. the Continent, the mainland of Europe, as distinguished from the British Isles.
5. a continuous tract or extent, as of land.
6. Archaic. something that serves as a container or boundary.

adjective

1. exercising or characterized by restraint in relation to the desires or passions and especially to sexual desires; temperate.
2. able to control urinary and fecal discharge.
3. Obsolete. containing; being a container; capacious.
4. Obsolete. restraining or restrictive.
5. Obsolete. continuous; forming an uninterrupted tract, as land.

Continent

¹

/ ˈkɒntɪnənt /

noun

1. the Continent
   the mainland of Europe as distinguished from the British Isles

continent

²

/ ˈkɒntɪnənt; ˌkɒntɪˈnɛntəl /

noun

1. one of the earth's large land masses (Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, North and South America, and Antarctica)
2. that part of the earth's crust that rises above the oceans and is composed of sialic rocks. Including the continental shelves, the continents occupy 30 per cent of the earth's surface
3. obsolete.
   1. mainland as opposed to islands
   2. a continuous extent of land

continent

³

/ ˈkɒntɪnənt /

adjective

1. able to control urination and defecation
2. exercising self-restraint, esp from sexual activity; chaste

continent

/ kŏn′tə-nənt /

1. One of the seven great landmasses of the Earth. The continents are Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.

Derived Forms

• continental, adjective
• ˌcontiˈnentally, adverb
• ˈcontinently, adverb
• ˈcontinence, noun

Other Word Forms

• un·conti·nent adjective
• un·conti·nent·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of continent¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin continent-, stem of continēns “holding together,” present participle of continēre “to hold together, keep in position,” equivalent to con- con- + -tinēre, combining form of tenēre “to hold”; contain

Word History and Origins

Origin of continent¹

C16: from the Latin phrase terra continens continuous land, from continēre ; see contain

Origin of continent²

C14: from Latin continent-, present participle of continēre; see contain

Example Sentences

Travellers have not been allowed to bring back items such as cured meat and cheese, including in sandwiches, since Saturday due to the growing outbreak on the continent.

From BBC

But Starlink still has no presence in South Africa - the continent's most industrialised nation.

From BBC

The technicolor Florida sunset had faded into darkness, and my extended family, assembled from two continents and three countries, gathered on the beach at Longboat Key to look at the stars.

From Salon

Given that he is the first from the continent to complete the Slam the Northern Irishman might have eclipsed Faldo as golf's greatest European.

From BBC

This ambitious, gorgeously written novel covers 1,000 years and a few continents, and if that weren’t enough, it broke structure in half.

From Los Angeles Times