continental drift

[ kon-tn-en-tl drift ]

noun

1. Geology. the lateral movement of continents resulting from the motion of crustal plates.

continental drift

noun

1. geology the theory that the earth's continents move gradually over the surface of the planet on a substratum of magma. The present-day configuration of the continents is thought to be the result of the fragmentation of a single landmass, Pangaea, that existed 200 million years ago See also plate tectonics

continental drift

1. A theory stating that the Earth's continents have been joined together and have moved away from each other at different times in the Earth's history. The theory was first proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912. While his general idea of continental movement eventually became widely accepted, his explanation for the mechanism of the movement has been supplanted by the theory of plant tectonics.
2. See more at plate tectonics

continental drift

1. A term, no longer used by geologists, that refers to the fact that continents are not stationary, but move across the Earth 's surface. Continental drift is one feature of the modern theory of plate tectonics . ( See Pangaea .)

Word History and Origins

Origin of continental drift¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Earth isn’t an isolated terrarium, and life upon it has been as influenced by impacts and near misses as by continental drift.

From Slate

"Major events like continental drift certainly influenced the diversification of mosquitoes," Wiegmann said.

From Science Daily

The ship is named after Tharp, a woman whose work charting the ocean floor, and revealing its peaks and valleys, laid the groundwork for the theory of continental drift.

From Seattle Times

To set the mood, and to prepare for your impending immersion in our majority minority city, read Russell Banks’s “Continental Drift.”

From New York Times

Marie Tharp, after the ocean cartographer, who helped document the phenomenon of continental drift.

From New York Times