Definition of contiguous
1 : being in actual contact : touching along a boundary or at a point the 48 contiguous states
2 of angles : adjacent 2
3 : next or near in time or sequence The fires were contiguous with the earthquake.
4 : touching or connected throughout in an unbroken sequence contiguous row houses contiguous vineyards
contiguously
adverbcontiguousness
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Examples of contiguous in a Sentence
And in the west, contiguous to Lebanon, was the mountain stronghold of Latakia … —Robert D. Kaplan, Atlantic, February 1993
The Santa Monica Mountains, a sort of foot-note to the big contiguous ranges, stood off to the southwest of us, discrete and small. —John McPhee, New Yorker, 26 Sept. 1988
‘I've had my men looking into the land situation … and they think they could get us an additional thirty thousand acres, not all of it contiguous but we might make some trades.’ —James A. Michener, Texas, 1985
Connecticut and Massachusetts are contiguous states.
Recent Examples of contiguous from the Web
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The quest begins Highpointers often develop itineraries that allow them to visit as many states as possible in a contiguous area.
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Salvador/Timken now covers more than 36,000 acres, but when combined with Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, the total area of contiguous public hunting and fishing grounds is now more than 55,000 acres.
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The survey of 1,205 adults throughout the contiguous United States was conducted June 21-25.
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The upcoming total eclipse of the sun will be the first of the internet age in the contiguous United States, and its approach is being heralded by a deluge of data, websites, publications and guides.
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The stamps commemorate the upcoming total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, the first seen in the contiguous U.S. since 1979.
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The eclipse in August will be the first total solar eclipse over the 48 contiguous states since 1979.
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The two contiguous brick properties, located at 273-275 West 11th Street between Bleecker and West 4th Streets, were sold by the United Methodist Women.
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With 23 million acres covering 69 percent of the available land, Alabama's timber acreage is the third highest in the contiguous United States, behind Georgia and Oregon, according to state reports.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'contiguous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
You probably won't be surprised to learn that the word contact is a relative of contiguous, but would you believe that contagion and contingent are too? All of those words derive from the Latin contingere, meaning "to have contact with." The words contact and contiguous are fairly easy to connect with contingere, but what of the other two? In its early use, contingent was a synonym of "touching," and if you remember that touching something can pollute it (and that another meaning of contingere was "to pollute"), then contagion logically ties in, too.
Origin and Etymology of contiguous
Latin contiguus, from contingere to have contact with — more at contingent
Synonym Discussion of contiguous
CONTIGUOUS Defined for English Language Learners
contiguous
playDefinition of contiguous for English Language Learners
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—used to describe things that touch each other or are immediately next to each other
Medical Dictionary
Learn More about contiguous
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See words that rhyme with contiguous Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for contiguous Spanish Central: Translation of contiguous Nglish: Translation of contiguous for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of contiguous for Arabic speakers
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