Continental means situated on or belonging to the continent of Europe except for Britain.
[mainly British]
He sees no signs of improvement in the U.K. and continental economy.
2. countable noun [usually plural]
A continental is someone who comes from the continent of Europe.
[British, informal]
3. adjective [usually verb-link ADJECTIVE]
If you describe someone or something as continental, you think that they are typical of the continent of Europe.
[British, informal]
He's very continental.
4. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
Continental is used to refer to something that belongs to or relates to a continent.
The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.
5. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
The continental United States consists of all the states which are situated on the continent of North America,as opposed to Hawaii and territories such as the Virgin Islands.
[mainly US]
Shipping is included on orders sent within the continental U.S.
Since these substances are not licensed, they cannot be sold in the continental UnitedStates.
6. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Continental means existing or happening in the American colonies during the American Revolution.
[US]
...George Washington, Commander of the Continental Army.
The Continental Congress called upon the 13 states to draft new constitutions establishinggovernments more conducive to 'republican' principles.
7. countable noun
Continentals were soldiers who fought in the Continental Army against the British in the American Revolution.
[US]
Continental in British English
(ˌkɒntɪˈnɛntəl)
adjective
1.
of or characteristic of Europe, excluding the British Isles
2.
of or relating to the 13 original British North American colonies during and immediately after the War of American Independence
noun
3. (sometimes not capital)
an inhabitant of Europe, excluding the British Isles
4.
a regular soldier of the rebel army during the War of American Independence
5. US history
a currency note issued by the Continental Congress
Derived forms
Continentalism (ˌContiˈnentalˌism)
noun
Continentalist (ˌContiˈnentalist)
noun
continental in American English
(ˌkɑntənˈɛntəl)
adjective
1.
of a continent
2. [sometimesC-]
of or characteristic of the continent of Europe, excluding the British Isles
3. US; [C-]
of the American colonies at the time of the American Revolution, or of the statesjust after this
4. Meteorology
of the relatively dry air or climate associated with large land masses
see also air mass
noun
5. [usuallyC-]
a person living on the continent of Europe, excluding the British Isles
6. US; [C-]
a soldier of the American army during the Revolution
7. US
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
Derived forms
continentally (ˌcontiˈnentally)
adverb
Examples of 'Continental' in a sentence
Continental
The club have aged and declined as their continental rivals have renewed and improved.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
This is because of continental drift and the weight of all the ice.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The remaining spots will be filled by winners of continental preliminary competitions.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Some of our continental counterparts see the role of monarch differently.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Those that routinely forage on the continental shelf rarely strand.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
English players have inferior skills and technical ability compared with our continental counterparts.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
British postal workers lag behind their continental counterparts.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
But on the other hand they don't seem to occur on the continental mainland.
Francis Pryor BRITAIN BC: Life In Britain and Ireland before the Romans (2003)
The continental model of European champions would symbolically have triumphed.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
He had big plans to buy planes and tie in to rivals' continental networks.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Again, continental drift seems to provide the most likely mechanism.
Levenson, Thomas Ice Time: Climate, Science, and Life on Earth (1990)
This force is doing more than securing Russian economic interests and its claims on the continental shelf.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Anglo-American rather than continental European society formed the social context of these ideas.
Low, Nicholas Politics, Planning and the State (1990)
The seas are always big where the Atlantic meets the shallows of the continental shelf.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
It will also prompt the question of why Argentina is not exploiting its own continental shelf.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Always on the thin side, he often faced near starvation while representing his country in continental competitions.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Britain emerged from this struggle in triumph, for the first time clearly dominant over her continental rivals.
Stewart Lamont WHEN SCOTLAND RULED THE WORLD: The Story of the Golden Age of Genius, Creativityand Exploration (2002)
Today, 70% of sales come from exports to the continental mainland.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Perhaps it was as well that continental drift was so profoundly unfashionable in the 1920s and 1930s.
Richard Fortey THE EARTH: An Intimate History (2004)
Once again, English football was deemed to be light years behind that of their continental rivals.
The Sun (2011)
And, compared to their continental counterparts, they were a paragon of stability.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
British capital has in fact been much more international in orientation and activity than continental European and Japanese capital.
Overbeek, Henk Global Capitalism and National Decline (1989)
BRITAIN could run on continental European time following indications that the government will not block a campaign to change how we set our clocks.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
She had new clothes, very smart, ` Continental " they call them in the kitchen.
Holt, Victoria THE ROAD TO PARADISE ISLAND
Sabrina answered it and a room service waiter brought the two Continental breakfasts into the room.
MacNeill, Alastair CODE BREAKER
The Roadshow is going Continental, starting with Paris - then Rome and Berlin.
Martin, Joy THE IMAGE OF LAURA
All related terms of 'continental'
continental code
→ Morse 1
continental crust
that part of the earth's crust that underlies the continents and continental shelves
continental divide
the watershed of a continent , esp ( often caps . ) the principal watershed of North America, formed by the Rocky Mountains
continental drift
Continental drift is the slow movement of the Earth's continents towards and away from each other.
continental margin
the offshore zone , consisting of the continental shelf , slope, and rise, that separates the dry-land portion of a continent from the deep ocean floor
continental quilt
a quilt , stuffed with down or a synthetic material and containing pockets of air, used as a bed cover in place of the top sheet and blankets
continental shelf
The continental shelf is the area which forms the edge of a continent, ending in a steep slope to the depths of the ocean.
continental shield
any of the large, low-lying areas in the Earth's crust that are composed of Precambrian crystalline rocks
Continental System
→ the Continental System
polar continental
a type of cold , dry air mass originating at high latitudes over land areas
continental breakfast
A continental breakfast is breakfast that consists of food such as bread , butter , jam , and a hot drink . There is no cooked food.
continental climate
a climate characterized by hot summers , cold winters , and little rainfall , typical of the interior of a continent
Continental Congress
the assembly of delegates from the North American rebel colonies held during and after the War of American Independence . It issued the Declaration of Independence (1776) and framed the Articles of Confederation (1777)
continental glacier
a glacier that spreads out from a central mass
tropical continental
a type of warm , dry air mass originating at low latitudes over land areas
the Continental System
Napoleon's plan in 1806 to blockade Britain by excluding her ships from ports on the mainland of Europe
doona
a quilt , stuffed with down or a synthetic material and containing pockets of air, used as a bed cover in place of the top sheet and blankets
Chinese translation of 'continental'
continental
(kɔntɪˈnɛntl)
adj
(Brit, = of the European continent)[country, Europe]欧(歐)洲大陆(陸)的 (Ōuzhōu dàlù de)
(typical of European continent)[person, place, thing]欧(歐)式的 (Ōushì de)