Meaning & use
continental drift
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountabletechnical
The idea that the continents slowly shift position across the Earth's surface over millions of years.
Grammar: Uncountable: continental drift is now explained by plate tectonics.
Patterns
- the theory of continental drift
- evidence for continental drift
Fossils of the same reptile in Africa and South America supported continental drift.
In science class we learned how continental drift changed the map of the world.
Alfred Wegener first proposed continental drift in the early twentieth century.
Common combinations
- theory of continental drift
- The theory of continental drift was once widely rejected.
- evidence for continental drift
- Matching rock layers are evidence for continental drift.
- explain continental drift
- Plate tectonics helps explain continental drift.
- propose continental drift
- Wegener proposed continental drift without a clear mechanism.
- support continental drift
- Seafloor mapping helped support continental drift.
Synonyms and how they differ
- plate tectonics
- Plate tectonics is the modern theory that explains why continents move, while continental drift only describes the movement.
- crustal movement
- Crustal movement is a broader term that includes earthquakes and folding, not just continents moving apart.
- seafloor spreading
- Seafloor spreading names one mechanism, new crust forming at ocean ridges, rather than the whole idea of drift.
Word family
- continent noun
- one of Earth's large landmasses
- continental adjective
- relating to a continent
- drift verb
- to move slowly without direct force
- supercontinent noun
- a huge landmass formed when continents joined
- Pangaea noun
- the ancient supercontinent that broke apart
Commonly confused: continental drift or plate tectonics?
continental drift vs plate tectonics
Continental drift is the older idea that continents move. Plate tectonics is the full modern theory explaining the movement of the whole lithosphere.
Practice
What did the idea of continental drift propose?
Choose one answer.
Continental drift says continents shift position over millions of years. The other statements are unrelated to that theory.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “continental drift”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.