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# continental

adjective (continental); noun (a Continental — UK, old)

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

## Everyday

1. Continental means to do with a continent, one of the world's large land masses: «continental shelf», «continental climate». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continental/#m1)
2. (UK, Ireland) Continental means from mainland Europe, as opposed to Britain and Ireland: «continental breakfast», «a continental holiday». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continental/#m2)
3. (US) Continental can mean to do with the main part of North America, as in «the continental United States» (all states except Alaska and Hawaii). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continental/#m3)

### In the lessons

In geography lessons, pupils learn the seven continents and about continental plates that move slowly and cause earthquakes; a «continental climate» has hot summers and cold winters far from the sea. In everyday life, a hotel «continental breakfast» is bread, croissants, jam, cheese and coffee instead of a cooked breakfast. Phrases: «continental breakfast», «continental drift», «continental shelf», «continental Europe».

### Examples

- We had a continental breakfast of croissants and jam. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continental/#x1)
- Continental drift means the continents move very slowly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continental/#x2)
- The continental shelf is the shallow sea floor near the coast. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continental/#x3)
- Moscow has a continental climate with cold winters. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continental/#x4)
- The continental United States does not include Hawaii. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continental/#x5)
- Many British families take holidays on the Continent. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continental/#x6)
- It is the same with the Grimms' Aschenputtel and other Continental variants. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/continental/#x7)

### Note

Adjective; no comparative. «The Continent» (capital C) in British English means mainland Europe. The seven continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia (Oceania), Europe, North America, South America.

## On Mova

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