Illustration of continental shelf
- 1 seashore
- 2 continental shelf
- 3 continental slope
- 4 abyssal plain
- 5 seamount
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
Examples of continental shelf in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Warm air is moving over the still-cool continental shelf waters off the upper Texas Gulf Coast.
—
Newsroom Meteorologist, Houston Chronicle, 10 Feb. 2026
The coast in Palm Beach County (which includes Jupiter!) gets a further boost due to its shape that juts out a little farther east and the fact that the continental shelf is quite narrow here.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 6 Feb. 2026
The images were captured by a science team from the Schmidt Ocean Institute, which was observing biodiversity along the South American country’s continental shelf.
—Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026
On the continental shelf, these areas are located in shallower waters rich in nutrients, often associated with colder waters and steep seabed slopes that bring food to the surface.
—Rodrigo Tardin, The Conversation, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for continental shelf
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Newsroom Meteorologist, Houston Chronicle, 10 Feb. 2026
The coast in Palm Beach County (which includes Jupiter!) gets a further boost due to its shape that juts out a little farther east and the fact that the continental shelf is quite narrow here.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 6 Feb. 2026
The images were captured by a science team from the Schmidt Ocean Institute, which was observing biodiversity along the South American country’s continental shelf.
—Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026
On the continental shelf, these areas are located in shallower waters rich in nutrients, often associated with colder waters and steep seabed slopes that bring food to the surface.
—Rodrigo Tardin, The Conversation, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for continental shelf
Cite this Entry
“Continental shelf.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/continental%20shelf. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
