continental shelf

noun

: a shallow submarine plain of varying width forming a border to a continent and typically ending in a comparatively steep slope to the deep ocean floor

Illustration of continental shelf

• 1 seashore
• 2 continental shelf
• 3 continental slope
• 4 abyssal plain
• 5 seamount

Examples of continental shelf in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The United States has unilaterally expanded its continental shelf, approved deep-sea mining in national and international waters without waiting for global rules, and exited negotiations to curb shipping emissions. —Sturla Henriksen, Time, 5 June 2025

The 72-year-old law that Biden cited allows the president to withdraw portions of the outer continental shelf from mineral leasing, including leasing to drill for oil and gas, if the areas are deemed too sensitive to drill. —Matthew Daly, Chicago Tribune, 14 Feb. 2025

Unlike the Eastern Seaboard, where turbines can be bolted into the seabed, the continental shelf off the coast in the Pacific plunges steeply. —Rob Nikolewski, Mercury News, 8 May 2025

Opalescent squids live on the continental shelf, where the crust lies 300 to 600 feet deep. —Jules Jacobs, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1892, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for continental shelf

• bookshelf
• herself
• himself
• hisself
• itself
• meself
• myself
• nonself
• oneself
• thyself
• yourself
• elf

Kids Definition

continental shelf

noun

: a shallow submarine plain of varying width forming a border to a continent and typically ending at the continental slope