[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/continent/)

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# continent

noun (a continent, continents)

«continent» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A continent is one of the very large areas of land on Earth. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continent/#m1)
2. Most people count seven continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia (Oceania), Europe, North America and South America. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continent/#m2)
3. In Britain, «the Continent» can mean mainland Europe. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continent/#m3)

### In the lessons

In geography lessons, continents are shown on maps and globes, and countries belong to continents (Canada is in North America). Asia is the biggest continent and has the most people; Antarctica is the coldest and has no permanent towns. In science, continents sit on huge plates that move very slowly. Phrases: on every continent, the seven continents, continental.

### Examples

- There are seven continents on Earth. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continent/#x1)
- Asia is the largest continent. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continent/#x2)
- Penguins live in Antarctica, the coldest continent. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continent/#x3)
- The USA and Canada are on the continent of North America. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continent/#x4)
- Australia is both a country and a continent. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continent/#x5)
- We coloured each continent a different colour on the map. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continent/#x6)
- The Amazon rainforest is in South America. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continent/#x7)
- Long ago the continents were joined together. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continent/#x8)
- I am, however, not so much concerned with the original explanation of the Jataka as to trace its travels across the continents of Asia, Africa, and America. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continent/#x9)

### Note

Countable: a continent, continents; names of continents start with capital letters. Different countries teach different counts (some say six or five continents), so seven is the usual school answer in English-speaking countries. An island is not a continent, though Australia is called an island continent. «Continental» is the adjective.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «continent» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continent/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«continent» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/continent.html) on Mova free.