Continent vs. Region — What's the Difference?

A continent is one of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven regions are commonly regarded as continents.

In geography, regions are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and the environment (environmental geography). Geographic regions and sub-regions are mostly described by their imprecisely defined, and sometimes transitory boundaries, except in human geography, where jurisdiction areas such as national borders are defined in law.

One of the principal land masses of the earth, usually regarded as including Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America.

A large, usually continuous segment of a surface or space

Continent The mainland of Europe. Used with the.

A portion of the earth's surface distinguished from others by some characteristic

Exercising continence.

A bioregion.

Each of the main continuous land-masses on the earth's surface, now generally regarded as seven in number, including their related islands, continental shelves etc.

A political district or unit, often with its adjacent lands

A large contiguous landmass considered independent of its islands, peninsulas etc. Specifically, the Old World continent of Europe–Asia–Africa. See the Continent.

An area of the body having natural or arbitrarily assigned boundaries

(obsolete) Land (as opposed to the water).

An area of interest or activity; a sphere

Exercising self-restraint; controlled, temperate with respect to one's bodily needs or passions, especially sex, urination and/or defecation.

An approximate degree or amount

Not interrupted; connected; continuous.

Any considerable and connected part of a space or surface; specifically, a tract of land or sea of considerable but indefinite extent; a country; a district; in a broad sense, a place without special reference to location or extent but viewed as an entity for geographical, social or cultural reasons.

(obsolete) Serving to restrain or limit; restraining; opposing.

An administrative subdivision of a city, a territory, a country.

Serving to restrain or limit; restraining; opposing.

(historical) Such a division of the city of Rome and of the territory about Rome, of which the number varied at different times; a district, quarter, or ward.

Exercising restraint as to the indulgence of desires or passions; temperate; moderate.

An administrative subdivision of the European Union.

Abstaining from sexual intercourse; exercising restraint upon the sexual appetite; esp., abstaining from illicit sexual intercourse; chaste.

A subnational region of Chile; equivalent to province.

Not interrupted; connected; continuous; as, a continent fever.

(Ontario) regional municipality

That which contains anything; a receptacle.

Ellipsis of administrative region

One of the grand divisions of land on the globe; the main land; specifically (Phys. Geog.), a large body of land differing from an island, not merely in its size, but in its structure, which is that of a large basin bordered by mountain chains; as, the continent of North America.

(figuratively) The inhabitants of a region or district of a country.

One of the large landmasses of the earth;

(anatomy) A place in or a part of the body in any way indicated.

The European mainland;

(obsolete) Place; rank; station; dignity.

Having control over urination and defecation

(obsolete) The space from the earth's surface out to the orbit of the moon: properly called the elemental region.

Abstaining from sexual intercourse;

One of the grand districts or quarters into which any space or surface, as of the earth or the heavens, is conceived of as divided; hence, in general, a portion of space or territory of indefinite extent; country; province; district; tract.

Tract, part, or space, lying about and including anything; neighborhood; vicinity; sphere.

The upper air; the sky; the heavens.

The inhabitants of a district.

Place; rank; station.

The extended spatial location of something;

A part of an animal that has a special function or is supplied by a given artery or nerve;

A large indefinite location on the surface of the Earth;

The approximate amount of something (usually used prepositionally as in `in the region of');

A knowledge domain that you are interested in or are communicating about;