continent
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
One of the main continuous landmasses, separated by water or geological features, on the surface of a planet.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kahntuhnuhntSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkɑntənənt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
One of the main continuous landmasses, separated by water or geological features, on the surface of a planet, sometimes including its continental shelves and the islands on them.
Each of the traditional main regions into which the Earth's land surface is divided, including both an extent of mainland and various conventionally associated islands, etc; namely, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australasia/Oceania, North America, South America, and Antarctica.
One of the large landmasses of the earth
figurative
A large connected expanse of something in general.
The European mainland
ukireland
Mainland Europe, as seen from the British Isles.
adjective
Having control over urination and defecation
Exercising self-restraint; controlled, temperate with respect to one's bodily needs or passions, especially sex.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: One of the main continuous landmasses, separated by water or geological features, on the surface of a planet, sometimes including its continental shelves and the islands on them.
Used this way, continent is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a scientific use: it names something precisely within a field of study, so it appears in research and teaching more than in conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Science
- Academic writing
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use continent
- “There are seven continents.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Related to One of the main continuous landmasses, separated by water or geological features, on the surface of a planet, sometimes including its continental shelves and the islands on them.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An extremely cold continent at the south pole almost entirely below the Antarctic Circle.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
The watershed of a continent (especially the watershed of North America formed by a series of mountain ridges extending from Alaska to Mexico).
The gradual movement and formation of continents (as described by plate tectonics).
The relatively shallow (up to 200 meters) seabed surrounding a continent.
A ballistic missile that is capable of traveling from one continent to another.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Antonyms
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