NORTH AMERICA

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does North America mean? 

• NORTH AMERICA (noun)
  The noun NORTH AMERICA has 2 senses:

1. a continent (the third largest) in the western hemisphere connected to South America by the Isthmus of Panama

2. the nations of the North American continent collectively

  Familiarity information: NORTH AMERICA used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NORTH AMERICA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A continent (the third largest) in the western hemisphere connected to South America by the Isthmus of Panama

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Instance hypernyms:

continent (one of the large landmasses of the earth)

Meronyms (parts of "North America"):

Canada (a nation in northern North America; the French were the first Europeans to settle in mainland Canada)

Rockies; Rocky Mountains (the chief mountain range of western North America; extends from British Columbia to northern New Mexico; forms the continental divide)

Great Plains; Great Plains of North America (a vast prairie region extending from Alberta and Saskatchewan and Manitoba in Canada south through the west central United States into Texas; formerly inhabited by Native Americans)

Coast Mountains; Coast Range (a string of mountain ranges along the Pacific coast of North America from southeastern Alaska to Lower California)

America; the States; U.S.; U.S.A.; United States; United States of America; US; USA (North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776)

Central America (the isthmus joining North America and South America; extends from the southern border of Mexico to the northern border of Colombia)

Mesoamerica (Mexico and Central America)

North American country; North American nation (any country on the North American continent)

Meronyms (members of "North America"):

North American (a native or inhabitant of North America)

Domain member region:

Latin America (the parts of North America and South America to the south of the United States where Romance languages are spoken)

canon; canyon (a ravine formed by a river in an area with little rainfall)

continental divide (the watershed of a continent (especially the watershed of North America formed by a series of mountain ridges extending from Alaska to Mexico))

Plantation (a newly established colony (especially in the colonization of North America))

plainsman (an inhabitant of a plains region (especially the Great Plains of North America))

Holonyms ("North America" is a part of...):

northern hemisphere (the hemisphere that is to the north of the equator)

New World; occident; western hemisphere (the hemisphere that includes North America and South America)

Occident; West (the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America)

America (North America and South America and Central America)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The nations of the North American continent collectively

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("North America" is a kind of...):

accumulation; aggregation; assemblage; collection (several things grouped together or considered as a whole)

Meronyms (members of "North America"):

American (a native or inhabitant of a North American or Central American or South American country)

 Context examples 

By contrast, the current storm, if it were happening on Earth, would cover the area of North America and Russia combined.

(Martian Dust Storm Grows Global: Curiosity Captures Photos of Thickening Haze, NASA)

Southern Europe, the southern part of North America, South Asia, Africa, Australia and also South America are still within the zone today, he said.

(Scientists Track Chinese Space Station as It Falls to Earth, VOA)

The aromatic root of the perennial herb Panax quinquefolius, native to eastern North America.

(American Ginseng, NCI Thesaurus)

Continental warmth: South America had its second warmest year on record; Asia, its third; Africa, its fourth; Europe, its fifth; and North America and Oceania, their sixth.

(2017 was 3rd warmest year on record for the globe, NOAA)

An herbal remedy derived from the dried root of Dioscorea villosa, a perennial vine native to North America, Mexico and Asia.

(Dioscorea villosa Tuber, NCI Thesaurus)

An herb native to North America that has been used to prevent and treat the common cold and other respiratory infections.

(Echinacea, NCI Dictionary)

The Foundation conducts its fundraising and advocacy efforts on behalf of 90% of the children with cancer in North America, receiving federal and non-federal grants and awards to distribute to the member-institutions.

(National Childhood Cancer Foundation, NCI Thesaurus)

A country in southern North America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, south of the US.

(Mexico, NCI Thesaurus)

The new discovery raises questions about why monkeys never ventured farther into North America.

(First-ever fossil monkey found in North America, NSF)

The researchers found that declines in U.S. bat populations have resulted in colonies in North America and Europe that are roughly the same size.

(Hibernation season over, will disease-ridden bats emerge from caves and mines this spring?, NSF)