North America

American  

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).

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North America British  

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)

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North America Cultural  

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

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Other Word Forms

• North American adjective

Etymology

Origin of North America

First recorded in 1680–90

Example Sentences

“Consumers were unsurprisingly concerned about the impact of the Iran war, ‘expressing a substantial increase in concerns over high prices and weaker asset values,’” said Stephen Brown, chief North America economist at Capital Economics.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

A rebound in North America and gains in its running shoes have been bright spots.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

George grew up on a tobacco plantation approximately 30 miles southwest of Jamestown, Va., where in 1619 some of the first enslaved Africans in British North America were sold to colonists.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Most people know about the centerpiece of NATO’s treaty, Article 5, which states, “An armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all.”

From Slate • Apr. 9, 2026

The original Native American population has been reduced by a debated large percentage: estimates for North America range up to 95 percent.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond