intercontinental

adjective

in·​ter·​con·​ti·​nen·​tal ˌin-tər-ˌkän-tə-ˈnen-tᵊl 

1

: extending among continents or carried on between continents

2

: capable of traveling between continents

intercontinental ballistic missile

Examples of intercontinental in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Monday the engine test was likely related to an effort to build a more powerful solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that can carry multiple nuclear warheads, according to lawmakers who attended the meeting. —Hyung-Jin Kim, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026

South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Monday the engine test was likely related to an effort to build a more powerful solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that can carry multiple nuclear warheads, according to lawmakers who attended the meeting. —ABC News, 7 Apr. 2026

That timeline is crucial to understand, because to hit the United States with the ultimate weapon, Iran would have to place a nuclear warhead on top of an intercontinental ballistic missile. —Shane Harris, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2026

The company added that operations for intercontinental and Schengen-area flights aren’t subject to restrictions. —Danny Lee, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1855, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for intercontinental

• interdepartmental
• intergovernmental
• intragovernmental
• nonexperimental
• accidental
• compartmental
• continental
• detrimental
• elemental
• fundamental
• governmental
• incidental

Kids Definition

intercontinental

adjective

in·​ter·​con·​ti·​nen·​tal ˌint-ər-ˌkänt-ᵊn-ˈent-ᵊl 

1

: extending among or carried on between continents

intercontinental trade

2

: capable of traveling from one continent to another

an intercontinental ballistic missile