continental shelf

noun

|Updated on: 13 Jul 2018

Definition of continental shelf

: 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

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Recent Examples of continental shelf from the Web

But the continental shelf off the coast of the Pacific plunges quickly and steeply.

— rob nikolewski, latimes.com, "Offshore wind farms are planned for California — but the Navy says no to large sections of the coast," 8 May 2018
Such purchases are nearly entirely paid for by a portion of the money the government collects from oil and natural gas leasing on the outer continental shelf.

— dino grandoni, Washington Post, "The Energy 202: How a conservation fund helped sink Trump's budget-trimming efforts," 25 June 2018
The glider will travel 130 miles from Atlantic City to the edge of the underwater continental shelf and back.

— eric niiler, National Geographic, "The Ocean Is Getting More Acidic—What That Actually Means," 15 June 2018
But the continental shelf off the coast of the Pacific plunges quickly and steeply.

— rob nikolewski, latimes.com, "Offshore wind farms are planned for California — but the Navy says no to large sections of the coast," 8 May 2018
But the continental shelf off the coast of the Pacific plunges quickly and steeply.

— rob nikolewski, latimes.com, "Offshore wind farms are planned for California — but the Navy says no to large sections of the coast," 8 May 2018
The study looked at the North American continental shelves on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.

— martin finucane, BostonGlobe.com, "Hundreds of fish species will be forced to shift north due to climate change, study says," 16 May 2018
But the continental shelf off the coast of the Pacific plunges quickly and steeply.

— rob nikolewski, latimes.com, "Offshore wind farms are planned for California — but the Navy says no to large sections of the coast," 8 May 2018
But the continental shelf off the coast of the Pacific plunges quickly and steeply.

— rob nikolewski, latimes.com, "Offshore wind farms are planned for California — but the Navy says no to large sections of the coast," 8 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'continental shelf.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.