continental divide

noun

A line of elevated terrain that divides a watershed or a continent, so that water flowing on either side eventually travels to separate bodies of water.

Similar
Great Divide
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Meanings

continental divide1

nouncontinental divide (plural continental divides)

plural continental divides

  1. A line of elevated terrain that divides a watershed or a continent, so that water flowing on either side eventually travels to separate bodies of water.

Continental Divide2

proper noun
  1. An unincorporated community in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States.
  2. A continental divide in the Americas to the west of which water drains into the Pacific Ocean, and to the east of which it flows variously into the Atlantic or Arctic Ocean.

    Synonyms: Great Divide

Synonyms & antonyms

proper nounA continental divide in the Americas to the west of which water drains into the Pacific Ocean, and to the east of which it flows variously into the Atlantic or Arctic Ocean.

Similar
Great Divide

Origin

Named after a continental divide.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Spanish divisoria continental
  • divisoria continentalelevated terrain dividing a watershed
Cite this entry
APA

continental divide. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/continental%20divide

MLA

“continental divide.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/continental%20divide. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “continental divide,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/continental%20divide.

Source: continental divide on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.