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

The base is responsible for launching satellites into polar orbit and conducting intercontinental ballistic missile tests. — Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 20 July 2026

Six teams have qualified automatically via their results at the 2027 Asian Cup, while two teams, Uzbekistan and Chinese Taipei, will head to the intercontinental play-off next year. — Theo Lloyd-Hughes, New York Times, 20 July 2026

The analysts mention the 1998 Rumsfeld Commission, which predicted that Iran and North Korea could develop intercontinental ballistic missiles within five years. — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 13 July 2026

China last conducted a missile test in the Pacific two years ago, firing an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead, the first since 1980. — Huizhong Wu, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 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