continental

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

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

Add a sixth notch to Ultra Music Festival's continental bedpost.

— kat bein, Billboard, "Ultra Announces Road to Ultra Australian Expansion With Lineup in Melbourne 2018," 2 Nov. 2017
England have named their Under-19 squad for upcoming European championship qualifiers, with attention on the country's junior teams spiking in 2017 after several recent successes at various age groups on both a continental and global stage.

— SI.com, "England Name U19 Squad Packed Full of Talent for Upcoming Euro Qualifiers," 2 Nov. 2017
Maria’s brawn disabled radar, weather stations and cell towers that prevented officials both on the American territory and on the continental United States from knowing the true impact of the storm’s intensity.

— christine schmidt, courant.com, "Puerto Ricans in Connecticut Wait Anxiously For News After Hurricane Ravages Island," 21 Sep. 2017
The amount of rain Hurricane Harvey dumped on Houston was unprecedented not only for the city but also for the continental United States.

— nirmala george, The Christian Science Monitor, "As the world watched Harvey and Irma, devastating floods washed over South Asia," 14 Sep. 2017
Most of central Mexico's Pacific coast roils with earthquakes as the ocean's tectonic plates force their way underneath the continental plate of North America.

— lizzie wade, Science | AAAS, "Underwater network hunts for mysterious slow quakes," 1 Nov. 2017
Three goals in as many Champions League games for Lukaku has aided United's push to claim top spot in group A in this year's continental competition.

— SI.com, "Eric Bailly Hails Man Utd Teammate as 'Untouchable' Factor in Red Devils Resurgence," 31 Oct. 2017
The continental estimate this spring was 47.3 million ducks, the fifth-highest total on record and 34% above the long-term average.

— paul a. smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Smith: Sultry weather, moderate duck flights mark Wisconsin's north zone opener," 30 Sep. 2017
With 1,350 miles of coastline, the most in the continental United States, Florida has roughly 2.5 million homes in hazard zones, more than three times that of any other state, FEMA estimates.

— terry spencer and meghan hoyer, chicagotribune.com, "As Hurricane Irma bears down, most Florida flood zone property is not insured," 7 Sep. 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.

First Known Use of continental

1755

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

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

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