Meaning & use
subcontinent
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Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
A very large area of land that is a distinct part of a continent, with its own geography and often its own plate.
Grammar: Countable, usually with the: the subcontinent.
Patterns
- the subcontinent of something
Geologists say the subcontinent was once an island drifting north.
Greenland is sometimes described as a subcontinent.
The Indian plate carried the subcontinent into Asia millions of years ago.
nounsingular
The Indian subcontinent: the region that includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and neighboring countries.
Grammar: Often written the Indian subcontinent or the subcontinent.
Patterns
- the Indian subcontinent
- across the subcontinent
Monsoon rains arrive across the subcontinent each summer.
Cricket is hugely popular on the subcontinent.
She spent a year traveling around the subcontinent.
Word forms
| plural | subcontinents |
|---|
Common combinations
- Indian subcontinent
- Rice has been grown on the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years.
- across the subcontinent
- Trains link cities across the subcontinent.
- on the subcontinent
- Languages on the subcontinent are very diverse.
- the subcontinent's history
- The subcontinent's history includes many empires.
- whole subcontinent
- A heat wave gripped the whole subcontinent.
Synonyms and how they differ
- region
- Region is a broad word for any area, while subcontinent names a specific large landmass.
- landmass
- Landmass means any large body of land and includes entire continents, while subcontinent is a part of one.
- peninsula
- A peninsula is land mostly surrounded by water, whereas a subcontinent is defined by size and geology.
Word family
- continent noun
- one of the world's very large land areas
- continental adjective
- relating to a continent
- subcontinental adjective
- relating to a subcontinent
- intercontinental adjective
- between continents
Commonly confused: subcontinent or continent?
subcontinent vs continent
A continent is one of the world's seven great landmasses, while a subcontinent is a large region within one.
Practice
India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are all on the Indian ____.
Choose one answer.
The Indian subcontinent names this large region of South Asia. An archipelago is a group of islands and an isthmus a narrow strip of land.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “subcontinent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.