continental shelf

noun

: a shallow submarine plain of varying width forming a border to a continent and typically ending in a comparatively steep slope to the deep ocean floor

Illustration of continental shelf

• 1 seashore
• 2 continental shelf
• 3 continental slope
• 4 abyssal plain
• 5 seamount

Examples of continental shelf in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But unlike the East Coast, where turbines can be bolted into the seabed, the continental shelf off the coast of the Pacific plunges steeply. —Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2025

But these concerns have abated as the iceberg appears to be grounded on the continental shelf around 90 kilometers (56 miles) from shore. —Jack Guy, CNN, 4 Mar. 2025

The continental shelf offers refuge to creatures not suited for the shallow water or the abyss, including around New Caledonia. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2025

Quickly resisting the change, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has threatened to file suit against Google, arguing Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf applied only to the area of the continental shelf under U.S. control. —Miranda Nazzaro, The Hill, 20 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1892, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for continental shelf

• bookshelf
• herself
• himself
• hisself
• itself
• meself
• myself
• nonself
• oneself
• thyself
• yourself
• elf

Kids Definition

continental shelf

noun

: a shallow submarine plain of varying width forming a border to a continent and typically ending at the continental slope