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 area in question includes roughly 125 million acres that run from the outer edge of state waters, which end three miles off land, to the outer edge of the continental shelf, which runs 80 to 100 miles away from the coast. — Andre Mouchard, Oc Register, 9 Aug. 2026

Mesophotic coral ecosystems along the West African coastline, particularly on the Gulf of Guinea's continental shelf, remain poorly documented, according to the paper. — Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 23 July 2026

Marine life concentrates most densely in the shallowest waters of this continental shelf, 100 feet deep or less, in reefs, lagoons, and coastal inlets where a person can swim and scuba dive without specialized gear. — Bill Gourgey, Popular Science, 2 July 2026

Unlike the East Coast, where turbines can be bolted into the seabed, the continental shelf off the Pacific coast plunges steeply. — Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 May 2026

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