continental Hear it!

continental Definition

con·ti·nen·tal (känt′'n ent′'l)

adjective

  1. of a continent
  2. of or characteristic of the continent of Europe, excluding the British Isles
  3. ☆ of the American colonies at the time of the American Revolution, or of the states just after this
  4. Meteorol. of the relatively dry air or climate associated with large land masses

noun

  1. a person living on the continent of Europe, excluding the British Isles
  2. ☆ a soldier of the American army during the Revolution
  3. ☆ a piece of paper money issued by the Continental Congress: it became almost worthless before the end of the war, hence the phrases not care (or give) a continental and not worth a continental

continental Related Forms

con′·ti·nen′·tally adverb

continental Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • almost: With its array of shops, cafés and bars, it has an almost continental atmosphere.
  • usually: Full board consists of breakfast ( usually continental ), lunch and dinner, half board is breakfast and dinner.
  • distinctly: The Boatshed has a distinctly continental feel in keeping with its original heritage.
  • even: Watch out for occasional markets, which may feature craft, Christmas or even continental themes.
  • largely: On Figure 4 is pictured convergence between an oceanic plate and a largely continental plate.
  • mostly: The histrionics of today's mostly continental players are a direct result of what began that summer of '74.

Preposition: with

summer: In the interior of the country, the climate is continental with hot summers and cold, snowy winters.

Modifies a noun

  • shelf: By contrast, the continental shelf off the UK is mostly less than 100 m deep.
  • breakfast: A cooked or continental breakfast can be enjoyed in an elegant dining room.
  • crust: The continental crust in the Himalayas is some 75 kilometers deep.
  • drift: They wouldn't even need to wait for continental drift to form handy land bridges - they could just take a plane.
  • margin: The oil industry is moving inexorably into deeper water along the continental margins.
  • lithosphere: The topic was the continental lithosphere, especially cratons.

Used with adjective complement

include: Prices for elsewhere, including continental Europe, can be by arrangement.