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

Our dataset only includes the continental US, but a Texas city could see its climate look more like a city in Mexico, and a Florida city may resemble an island in the Caribbean. — Umair Irfan, Vox, "Watch how the climate could change in these US cities by 2050," 30 Nov. 2018 In one particularly moving visualization called The Eye, Pereira positioned satellite photos of ICE detention centers over the continental US. — Emily Dreyfuss, WIRED, "'ICE Is Everywhere': Using Library Science to Map the Separation Crisis," 25 June 2018 Worthy for praise for far more than its swoonworthy key lime pie, the Florida Keys getaway is the southernmost city in the continental US. — Southern Living, "Florida Island Named "Most Excellent" City in the World," 20 June 2018 Over 80 million people in the continental US can be impacted by hurricane flooding and wind, according to Bell. — Alessandra Potenza, The Verge, "Why we can’t predict how destructive a hurricane season will be," 1 June 2018 Betty is also survived by numerous cousins spread throughout the continental US, as well as abroad in the Netherlands, and Spain. — courant.com, "Elizabeth G. Rykhof," 15 Apr. 2018 There’s a 63 percent chance the continental US will get hit by a major hurricane, compared with the average of 52 percent. — Brian K. Sullivan, BostonGlobe.com, "After worst hurricane season ever, 2018 will be above average," 6 Apr. 2018 According to the analyst site Arms Control Wonk, North Korea is now building a national monument at the launch site of its ICBM test from last November, which indicated an ability to reach the continental US with a missile. — Peter Grier, The Christian Science Monitor, "US-North Korea summit? Shared language, expectations are key.," 13 Mar. 2018 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

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.