subcontinent

S1U1B3C3O1N1T1I1N1E1N1T1
UK/ˌsʌbˈkɒntɪnənt/

noun

A large landmass which is either smaller than a continent (such as Greenland), or part of an even larger continent (such as the Indian subcontinent).

Meanings

subcontinent1

nounsubcontinent (plural subcontinents)

plural subcontinents

  1. A large landmass which is either smaller than a continent (such as Greenland), or part of an even larger continent (such as the Indian subcontinent).

subcontinent2

proper nounthe subcontinent

alternative Subcontinent

  1. The Indian subcontinent, South Asia.

    The Turks had acquired the culture of power of Persia and implemented its political and administrative traditions in the subcontinent.

    2006, Ilhan Niaz, An Inquiry into the Culture of Power of the Subcontinent, page 290
    2 more examples

    The terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore could lead to Dubai and Abu Dhabi becoming the "home" venues for the subcontinent’s cricket-playing countries for the forseeable future, according to leading officials in England and worldwide.

    2009 March 8, Jamie Jackson, “Dubai stands by to host Test cricket”, in The Guardian

    Highlights include a debate on east London architecture, quirky performances staged at the Barbican, music and dance from the subcontinent, and the East Commonwealth Games in Spitalfields Market, with events ranging from bicycle polo to kabaddi (a cross between tag and wrestling).

    2010 February 26, Jolyon Attwooll, “Coming up: What's on the world of travel”, in Daily Telegraph

Subcontinent3

proper nounthe Subcontinent
  1. Alternative letter-case form of subcontinent (“the Indian subcontinent”).

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

subcontinent · proper noun

Ellipsis of Indian subcontinent.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic شِبْه قارَة
  • شِبْه قارَة (šibh qāra)large landmass
Bengali উপমহাদেশ
  • উপমহাদেশ (upomhadeś)large landmass
Bulgarian субконтине́нт
  • субконтине́нт (subkontinént)large landmass
Catalan subcontinent
  • subcontinentlarge landmass
Chinese Mandarin 次大陸 /次大陆
  • 次大陸 /次大陆 (cìdàlù)large landmass
Czech subkontinent
  • subkontinentlarge landmass
Danish subkontinent
  • subkontinentlarge landmass
Dutch subcontinent
  • subcontinentlarge landmass
Estonian subkontinent, alakontinent
  • subkontinentlarge landmass
  • alakontinentlarge landmass
Finnish osamanner
  • osamannerlarge landmass
French sous-continent
  • sous-continentlarge landmass
German Subkontinent
  • Subkontinentlarge landmass
Greek υποήπειρος
  • υποήπειρος (ypoḯpeiros)large landmass
Hindi उपमहाद्वीप
  • उपमहाद्वीप (upmahādvīp)large landmass
Hungarian szubkontinens
  • szubkontinenslarge landmass
Icelandic álfuhluti
  • álfuhlutilarge landmass
Indonesian anak benua
  • anak benualarge landmass
Irish fo-ilchríoch
  • fo-ilchríochlarge landmass
Italian subcontinente
  • subcontinentelarge landmass
Japanese 亜大陸
  • 亜大陸 (atairiku)large landmass
Korean 아대륙
  • 아대륙 (adaeryuk)large landmass
Latvian subkontinents
  • subkontinentslarge landmass
Lithuanian subkontinentas
  • subkontinentaslarge landmass
Malay subbenua
  • subbenualarge landmass
Norwegian Bokmål subkontinent
  • subkontinentlarge landmass
Persian شبهقاره
  • شبهقاره (šebh-e-qârre)large landmass
Polish subkontynent
  • subkontynentlarge landmass
Portuguese subcontinente
  • subcontinentelarge landmass
Punjabi ਉਪਮਹਾਂਦੀਪ
  • ਉਪਮਹਾਂਦੀਪ (upamhāndīp)large landmass
Romanian subcontinent
  • subcontinentlarge landmass
Russian субконтине́нт
  • субконтине́нт (subkontinént)large landmass
Slovak subkontinent
  • subkontinentlarge landmass
Spanish subcontinente
  • subcontinentelarge landmass
Swedish subkontinent
  • subkontinentlarge landmass
Tamil துணைக்கண்டம்
  • துணைக்கண்டம் (tuṇaikkaṇṭam)large landmass
Thai อนุทวีป
  • อนุทวีป (à-nú-tá-wîip)large landmass
Turkish altkıta
  • altkıtalarge landmass
Ukrainian субконтине́нт
  • субконтине́нт (subkontynént)large landmass
Urdu بَرِّصَغِیر
  • بَرِّصَغِیر (barr-e-saġīr)large landmass
Vietnamese tiểu lục địa
  • tiểu lục địalarge landmass
Welsh isgyfandir
  • isgyfandirlarge landmass
Cite this entry
APA

subcontinent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subcontinent

MLA

“subcontinent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subcontinent. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “subcontinent,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/subcontinent.

Source: subcontinent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.