intercontinental
adjective
in·ter·con·ti·nen·tal
ˌin-tər-ˌkän-tə-ˈnen-tᵊl 
1
: extending among continents or carried on between continents
2
: capable of traveling between continents
intercontinental ballistic missile
Examples of intercontinental in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This architecture was devised during the Cold War and is optimized for nuclear conflict and intercontinental ballistic missiles.
—
Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2025
Surely Putin was in a panic at that point, for had NATO even threatened to take any action—such as blowing up the Kursk bridge and thereby trapping his army in Ukraine—he would have been left with the choice of surrender or all-out intercontinental nuclear war.
—Robert Kagan, The Atlantic, 10 Sep. 2025
Emboldened by his trip to Beijing, Kim on Monday watched a test of North Korea’s new high-thrust rocket engine, which state media said would be used to power Pyongyang’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-20.
—Nectar Gan, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025
According to Ivy Park representatives, the SM-65 was the first operational intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the United States and the first member of the Atlas rocket family.
—Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for intercontinental
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.
Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2025
Surely Putin was in a panic at that point, for had NATO even threatened to take any action—such as blowing up the Kursk bridge and thereby trapping his army in Ukraine—he would have been left with the choice of surrender or all-out intercontinental nuclear war.
—Robert Kagan, The Atlantic, 10 Sep. 2025
Emboldened by his trip to Beijing, Kim on Monday watched a test of North Korea’s new high-thrust rocket engine, which state media said would be used to power Pyongyang’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-20.
—Nectar Gan, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025
According to Ivy Park representatives, the SM-65 was the first operational intercontinental ballistic missile developed by the United States and the first member of the Atlas rocket family.
—Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for intercontinental
Cite this Entry
“Intercontinental.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intercontinental. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
intercontinental
adjective
in·ter·con·ti·nen·tal
ˌint-ər-ˌkänt-ᵊn-ˈent-ᵊl
1
: extending among or carried on between continents
intercontinental trade
2
: capable of traveling from one continent to another
an intercontinental ballistic missile
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share