continental
con·ti·nent·al/ˌkɑntɪˈnɛntl̩/adjective, noun
continental is spelled C-O-N-T-I-N-E-N-T-A-L, 4 syllables: con·ti·nent·al. The wrong spelling people search most is continential: about 150 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 68 of all searches for the word. Continental is an adjective meaning “Of or relating to a continent or continents”.
How many letters and syllables are in continental?
| Letters | 11: C-O-N-T-I-N-E-N-T-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: con·ti·nent·al |
| In writing | 10 times per million words; the 6,884th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, continential, about 150 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell continental?
Continental is spelled C-O-N-T-I-N-E-N-T-A-L. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 68 of the searches for continental in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is continental?
Continental appears 10 times per million words in written English, the 6,884th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce continental?
- US /ˌkɑntɪˈnɛntl̩/
- UK /ˌkɒntɪˈnɛntl̩/
Continental has 4 syllables, split con·ti·nent·al in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-continental.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with continental?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as continental from its last stressed vowel (/ɛntl/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of continental
- more continental comparative
- most continental superlative
- continentals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does continental mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or relating to a continent or continents.
continental drift
- 2
Of the mainland, as opposed to an island offshore.
continental Europe
- 3
Relating to, or characteristic of, continental Europe.
continental breakfast
- 4
USOf or relating to the confederated colonies collectively, in the time of the Revolutionary War.
continental money
noun
- 1
Someone from the continent.
- 2
USA member of the Continental army.
- 3
USPaper scrip (paper money) issued by the continental congress, largely worthless by the end of the war.
- 4
obsoleteThe smallest amount; a whit; a jot.
not worth a continental
adjective
- 1
Synonym of European (including insular Europe, such as Britain, Ireland)
- 2
UKAlternative form of continental, continental European.
- 3
UKAlternative form of continental (pertaining to the European Union).
- 4
UKUSPertaining to the colonies of British North America covered by the Continental Congress.
noun
- 1
Synonym of European (a denizen of Europe)
- 2
UKA denizen of continental Europe
- 3
UKA denizen of the European Union
- 4
UKUSA denizen of the colonies of British North America covered by the Continental Congress.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate continental?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of continental: Cont'l.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Continental in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of or relating to a continent or continents:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | continental |
| German | kontinental |
| Portuguese | continental |
| Spanish | continental |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does continental come from?
From continent + -al.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).