Europe
name, noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 the nations of the European continent collectively wordnet
- 2 an international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members wordnet
- 1 A continent located west of Asia (separated by the Urals), north of Africa and east of the Atlantic Ocean. countable, uncountable
"Musk’s Israel tour was transparently transactional and frankly insulting. The antisemitic sentiment Musk endorsed had nothing to do with Israel; “replacement theory” is generally an unsupported allegation that Jews and other immigrants in the US and Europe are destroying Western civilization."
- 2 A political entity; the European Union. countable, uncountable
"Al Mahlool, Fared (13 November 2021), “1:53 PM · Nov 13, 2021”, in Twitter, Twitter, retrieved 13 Nov 2021: “French politician Julien Odoul says he would prefer the cold death of migrants stranded behind barbed wire on the Belarus-Poland border, rather than being allowed to enter Europe.”"
- 3 Mainland Europe (continental Europe), especially the western portion, thus excluding the island nations or the larger Mediterranean islands. Ireland, UK, countable, uncountable
- 4 International club competitions operated by UEFA, the sport's governing body for Europe. countable, uncountable
"Manchester City crashed out of Europe on Tuesday as Borussia Dortmund ended their hopes of qualifying for the Europa League."
Example
More examples"Though his stay in Europe was transient, Spenser felt he had learned much more about interactions with other people from traveling than he did at college."
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English Europe, a learned borrowing from Latin Eurōpa, borrowed from Doric Greek Εὐρώπα (Eurṓpa). Doublet of Europa.
Related phrases
More for "europe"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.