continental

adjective

con·ti·nen·tal | \ ˌkän-tə-ˈnen-tᵊl

Definition of continental

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : of, relating to, or characteristic of a continent continental waters specifically, often capitalized : of or relating to the continent of Europe excluding the British Isles

b often capitalized : of, relating to, or being a cuisine derived from the classic dishes of Europe and especially France

2a often capitalized : of or relating to the colonies later forming the U.S. Continental Congress

b : being the part of the U.S. on the North American continent also : being the part of the U.S. comprising the lower 48 states

continental

noun

Definition of continental (Entry 2 of 2)

1a often capitalized : an American soldier of the Revolution in the Continental army

b(1) : a piece of Continental paper currency

(2) : the least bit not worth a continental

2 : an inhabitant of a continent and especially the continent of Europe

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Examples of continental in a Sentence

Adjective

They will be touring Continental Europe. differences between Britain and its Continental neighbors The hotel combines American comfort with continental elegance.

Noun

complained that today's youth doesn't care a continental about their elders

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

By studying the amount of cratons and orogens, researchers can compare the continental plates beneath Antarctica to other regions around the world. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Long-Lost Continents Under Antarctica Revealed in Old Satellite Data," 8 Nov. 2018 And that is especially true in Kentucky and other areas with continental climates where extremes tend to be the norm. — Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, "There's no such thing as 'average' Kentucky weather. And trees hate that," 13 July 2018 At this summer’s tournament, which has been a resounding success, Kaliningrad and Ekaterinburg were separated by 1,893 miles and a continental dividing line. — Martin Rogers, USA TODAY, "Qatar is the World Cup every fan should attend," 13 July 2018 Here, King Tomislav defended the continental part of Croatia from Hungarian attacks and united all Croatian lands into one country for the first time. — Katarina Kovac, Vogue, "Where to Go in Croatia’s Capital City of Zagreb," 11 July 2018 By contrast, the Alps of Europe and the Himalayas of Asia rose in the center of their continents, forming insurmountable barriers to any continental unity. — Johnforristerross, Longreads, "Taming the Great American Desert," 2 July 2018 Sea water seeps down into the cracks and fissures created where the continental plates interact. — National Geographic, "Smoking Ocean Vents Found in Surprisingly Shallow Water," 21 June 2018 Photographer: Matt Martin GQ's Best Stuff found the most sophisticated continental toothpastes to give your sink ledge some pizzazz. — Nick Marino, GQ, "The Best European Toothpastes Will Give Your Teeth a Vacation," 15 June 2018 The continental venue represents the largest ever in terms of square mileage. — Emma Scornavacchi, The New Republic, "Amidst a war of words, North America wins the 2026 World Cup.," 13 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Many of these airlines also have different policies for intra-continental, short-haul flights, which are not included here. — Meredith Carey, Condé Nast Traveler, "International Basic Economy: How Every Major Airline Compares," 5 July 2018 Organizers of the Asian Games—a pan-continental, multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia—have confirmed eSports will be a demonstration event later this year. — Chris Morris, Fortune, "The IOC Is Another Step Closer to Including Video Games in the Olympics," 28 June 2018 Goals, fame and second-tier continental, as well as league success, came to the Brazilian, who became only the second man to break the world transfer record twice, all before his 21st birthday. — SI.com, "World Cup Countdown: 4 Weeks to Go - A Career Overview of Brazil's 2002 World Cup Hero, Ronaldo," 27 May 2018 But the most fun part is spinning the globe itself and watching the unfamiliar continental and oceanic formations of times past. — Erin Blakemore, Washington Post, "Ancient Earth Globe lets you travel back in time for a look at the planet," 24 Mar. 2018 The Confederations Cup is a trophy competed for by the seven current reigning continental or world champions and a host nation, in every odd year following a round of continental tournaments. — SI.com, "FIFA Propose New 'Final 8' World Cup Tournament as Part of the International Football Reform," 2 May 2018 Whatever optimism that remained among American fans was based on a belief that the team’s supposedly better-than-the-continental-competition talent would ultimately prevail. — Eric Betts, Slate Magazine, "Under Bruce Arena, the U.S. men’s national soccer team has transformed from an embarrassment into an aggressive attacking force.," 27 Mar. 2017 Wind drives water at the surface of the shallow continental shelf, at depths of about 300 feet (91 meters), north to water off the shelf, which drops to depths of more than 10,000 feet (3,050 meters). — Washington Post, "Arctic researchers to study wind effects on marine life," 22 Aug. 2017 For her next challenge Pillinger, who still commutes 26 miles by bike every day from her home in St Albans into London, will compete in the trans-continental -- a 1,790-mile race from Belgium to Greece. — Chris Murphy, CNN, "Is this the world's toughest bike race?," 13 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'continental.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.