Main definitions of continent in English

: continent¹ continent²

continent¹

noun

1Any of the world's main continuous expanses of land (Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, South America)
- ‘A child from an extended family may be living across different continents with different cultures and laws.’
- ‘The history of the Armenian state and people spans over three thousand years and six continents.’
- ‘By the end of my second year there, I'd travelled to most continents, and my air miles account was truly bulging.’
- ‘This steep sided sea flows like a meeting place between the two continents of Africa and Asia.’
- ‘So, after Everest, she resolved to climb the highest mountains on each of the seven continents.’
- ‘Instead, tectonics has encircled the north pole with most of the great continents.’
- ‘You're all my very extended family spanning all continents and all time zones around the world.’
- ‘This is due to the fact that all the continents had merged into a single landmass.’
- ‘The one mass of land began to break up, and the separating continents took with them living cargoes of animals.’
- ‘Thousands died on the seas while they were being shipped like caged cattle between continents.’
- ‘In fact, we know that tornadoes have occurred on all continents except Antarctica.’
- ‘With present telecommunication links it is indeed possible to work across the continents.’
- ‘The flowers also tend to be very small, compared to the size of the flowers found in other landmasses and continents.’
- ‘The Middle East and tropical Africa were the last continents that Europeans colonized.’
- ‘It even creates news products for maritime and land mobile markets across six continents and four ocean regions.’
- ‘To be competitive in the 1990s, airlines must offer services across several continents.’
- ‘Australia was the last of the inhabited continents to be reached by Europeans.’
- ‘The experience of war fought across two oceans and three continents turned it into a military hegemon of the first order.’
- ‘The plan is to sail around several continents before eventually returning to Europe.’
- ‘As far as the other continents were concerned British capital was centred on the Empire.’
mainland
View synonyms
1. 1.1The mainland of Europe as distinct from the British Isles.
2. 1.2A mainland contrasted with islands.
  ‘the maritime zone is richer in varieties of plant than the continent’
  ‘They saw only the tiny volcanic islands but no massive continent as he had claimed.’
  ‘Soon Sasha found herself riding in Hardy's carrier under the strange stars of the island continent.’
  ‘The island continent, Atlantis, began to tremble once more with extreme fury.’
  ‘Although it was a disaster it brought out some great characteristics of mateship and sacrifice for this little island continent of ours.’
  ‘Their goal was to take over every island and continent and submit them to dictatorship.’

Origin

Mid 16th century (denoting a continuous tract of land): from Latin terra continens continuous land.

Pronunciation:

continent

/ˈkänt(ə)nənt/

Main definitions of continent in English

: continent¹ continent²

continent²

adjective

1Able to control movements of the bowels and bladder.
- ‘We compared the risk of urinary incontinence in the daughters of incontinent women with that in the daughters of continent women.’
- ‘The patients in the study were losing the ability to dress themselves, bathe, use the toilet, clean themselves, and remain continent.’
- ‘This provides a mechanism to influence the two muscle groups to work in concert for continent urine storage and release.’
2Exercising self-restraint, especially sexually.
- ‘They were sexually continent all their lives.’
- ‘They believed that the church should be made up of women and men who were sexually continent and who also abstained from wine and meat.’

Origin

Late Middle English (in the sense characterized by self-restraint): from Latin continent- holding together, restraining oneself from continere (see contain).