subcontinent

noun

sub·​con·​ti·​nent ˌsəb-ˈkän-tə-nənt How to pronounce subcontinent (audio)
-ˈkänt-nənt
: a large landmass smaller than a continent
especially : a major subdivision of a continent
the Indian subcontinent
subcontinental adjective

Examples of subcontinent in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The show was sponsored by Swedish company Ciba’s toothpaste brand Binaca, which was launched on the subcontinent during that time. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 Feb. 2024 For those on the subcontinent, an American education has long been idealized, seen as a sure path to prosperity. Sakshi Venkatraman, NBC News, 14 Feb. 2024 For centuries, it was known only as a sliver of the Grand Trunk Road, Asia’s longest and oldest thoroughfare, linking traders in Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. Zia Ur-Rehman Saiyna Bashir, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2024 Eating and drinking Tobago's cuisine, with its roots in the Indian subcontinent, is anything but subtle. Dominic Kocur, theweek, 22 Jan. 2024 Within the Indian subcontinent, Ayurveda serves as a traditional medicine system often practiced in tandem with Western medicine. Hasina Khatib, Allure, 5 Jan. 2024 But the Aryans were not the first group to inhabit the Indian subcontinent. Phillip M. Carter, Fortune, 27 Sep. 2023 According to the organization’s logic, virtually any faith invented on the Indian subcontinent is, in fact, a part of Hinduism. Hartosh Singh Bal, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2023 Engineers and computer scientists trained at top schools in India began to immigrate by the thousands with their families, and U.S. tech companies turned their attention to the subcontinent. Sakshi Venkatraman, NBC News, 26 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'subcontinent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of subcontinent was in 1845

Dictionary Entries Near subcontinent

Cite this Entry

“Subcontinent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subcontinent. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

subcontinent

noun
sub·​con·​ti·​nent ˈsəb-ˈkänt-ᵊn-ənt How to pronounce subcontinent (audio)
-ˈkänt-nənt,
-ˌkänt-
: a large area of land smaller than a continent
especially : a major subdivision of a continent
the Indian subcontinent
subcontinental adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on subcontinent

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