Illustration of continental shelf
- 1 seashore
- 2 continental shelf
- 3 continental slope
- 4 abyssal plain
- 5 seamount
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
Examples of continental shelf in a Sentence
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Similar to above-ground canyons, they are carved into the seafloor and continental shelf through centuries of erosion.
—
Stephanie Edwards, Discover Magazine, 22 July 2025
Another step is to enlarge U.S. Arctic territory—not by trying to buy Greenland or incorporate Canada, but by extending the U.S. outer continental shelf in the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean.
—Michael Albertus, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025
Unlike the East Coast, where turbines can be bolted into the seabed, the continental shelf off the coast of the Pacific plunges steeply.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Feb. 2025
As such, it is not entitled to an EEZ or continental shelf.
—Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 May 2025
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Stephanie Edwards, Discover Magazine, 22 July 2025
Another step is to enlarge U.S. Arctic territory—not by trying to buy Greenland or incorporate Canada, but by extending the U.S. outer continental shelf in the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean.
—Michael Albertus, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025
Unlike the East Coast, where turbines can be bolted into the seabed, the continental shelf off the coast of the Pacific plunges steeply.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Feb. 2025
As such, it is not entitled to an EEZ or continental shelf.
—Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for continental shelf
Cite this Entry
“Continental shelf.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/continental%20shelf. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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