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

According to Georgia Aquarium, crevalle jack are large, silvery fish that are often found in large schools in open water, usually over the continental shelf. —Li Cohen, CBS News, 13 June 2024

But how that water came to be on the continental shelf in the first place is a mystery. —Hannah Richter, Ars Technica, 20 May 2024

To some degree, long stretches of submarine cables on the continental shelf already enjoy physical protection: many are buried underneath three to ten feet of seabed out to a water depth of about 5,000 feet. —Robert Martinage, Foreign Affairs, 1 Jan. 2015

The cruise covered an area more than 600 miles long and crisscrossed waters above the 125-mile wide continental shelf, documenting widespread ocean heating. —Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 14 Feb. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1892, in the meaning defined above

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