continental shelf

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ˈcon•tiˈnen•tal ˈshelf, n. [countable]

1. Geography the part of a continent that is under water in shallow seas.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

con′tinen′tal shelf′, [Physical Geog.]

1. Geography the part of a continent that is submerged in relatively shallow sea.

• 1940–45

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

continental shelf noun

1. the sea bed surrounding a continent at depths of up to about 200 metres (100 fathoms), at the edge of which the continental slope drops steeply to the ocean floor