intercontiˈnental, a.
[inter- 4 c.]
a. Situated or subsisting between, or connecting, different continents; including persons of different continents.
| 1855 in Hyde Clarke Eng. Dict. 1887 Times (weekly ed.) 1 July 11/4 Interoceanic Canals and intercontinental railways. 1894 Chicago Advance 25 Oct. 121/1 As a consequence of its inter-continental position..Corinth early became celebrated for its wealth and luxury. 1896 Curr. Hist. (Buffalo, N.Y.) VI. 675 An intercontinental combination of Fenians, Russian Nihilists in the U.S. and anarchists. |
b. Capable of travelling or of being sent from one continent to another; esp. in the designation intercontinental ballistic missile (abbrev. I.C.B.M.).
| 1956 Spaceflight I. 22/2 The terrible threat implicit in the alliance of inter-continental ballistic missiles and thermonuclear warheads, to which the whole world will stand utterly defenceless, is evident for all to see. 1957 Jane's Fighting Ships 1957–58 478 The combination of Regulus 1 guided missiles and submarines has given the United States Navy an intercontinental missile capability today instead of in the years to come. 1968 Times 16 Dec. 7/2 The second stage of the Saturn V rocket, with a thrust of one million lb., was comparable with the thrust of the Atlas rocket first developed as an inter-continental ballistic missile. 1969 Guardian 23 June 10/2 The Russians did not have a true intercontinental bomber until 1954. |