continental

adjective con·ti·nen·tal \ ˌkän-tə-ˈnen-tᵊl \

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

Examples: continental in a Sentence

Definition of continental

1 a : 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

2 a 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

—

continentally

play \ˌkän-tə-ˈnen-tə-lē\ adverb

See continental defined for English-language learners

See continental defined for kids

Examples of continental in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of continental from the Web

Major League Baseball this season has players from a record 21 countries and territories outside the continental United States.

— james wagner, New York Times, "When Spanish Names (Don’t) Flummox English-Speaking Baseball Announcers," 12 June 2018
Pyongyang also has developed long-range missiles that can range every major city in the continental United States.

— w.j. hennigan, Time, "President Trump Wants North Korea to Give Up Nuclear Weapons. Here's Just How Hard That Would Be," 11 June 2018
Topping off homemade pasta or pizza cost more in the Sacramento area than anywhere else in the continental United States last year, according to the Council for Community and Economic Research's Cost of Living Index.

— benjy egel, sacbee, "This item costs more in Sacramento than anywhere else in the continental United States," 4 June 2018
Forty-one percent went to the continental United States.

— megan geuss, Ars Technica, "Puerto Rico hurricane death toll likely “more than 70 times” official estimate," 29 May 2018
Any reports of 48 inches or more broke the record for tropical cyclone precipitation within the continental United States.

— david taylor, Houston Chronicle, "NWS warns of busy hurricane season at conference," 13 May 2018
The fleet will likely coordinate a response to Russian cruise missile submarines operating near the continental United States.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "U.S. Navy Re-Establishes the Second Fleet Because Russia Is on the Rise," 7 May 2018
Most of the continental United States won’t be able to see the SBBM (that’s #cool #slang for the super blue blood moon) in its entirety, though those watching from the west coast will be able to see a partial eclipse starting at 3:48 a.m.

— tess koman, Cosmopolitan, "Everything You Need to Know About the January 31, 2018, SUPER BLUE BLOOD MOON," 3 Jan. 2018
Italy is the third-largest economy in the eurozone, well integrated into the broader continental economy, and far less of an economic basket case than Greece, so Italians have more to lose in the event of such an upheaval.

— jonah shepp, Daily Intelligencer, "Italy’s Political Crisis Is Rattling Europe. Here’s What You Need to Know.," 30 May 2018

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.

First Known Use of continental

1755

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

continental

noun

Definition of continental

1 a 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

See continental defined for English-language learners

Examples of continental in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of continental from the Web

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
Salisbury 7, Hamilton 5: The host Sea Gulls ended the game on a 6-0 run to rally past the Continentals in an NCAA Division III second-round game.

— baltimoresun.com, "Lacrosse roundup (May 14): USC women stun No. 3 seed Florida in second round," 14 May 2017
Waters of the Atlantic continental shelf also support whales, swordfish, bluefin tuna, sea turtles and businesses heavily dependent on the health of the ocean ecosystem, according to the lawsuit.

— Washington Post, "Groups sue to stop Trump from renewing offshore drilling," 3 May 2017

First Known Use of continental

1777

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

continental Synonyms

Synonyms

beans, darn (also durn), fig, hoot, iota, jot, lick, modicum, rap, syllable, tittle, whit, whoop;

CONTINENTAL Defined for English Language Learners

continental

adjective

Definition of continental for English Language Learners

: of, relating to, or located on a continent
Continental : of or relating to the countries of Europe except for Great Britain and Ireland
: characteristic of Europe