Main Difference
The main difference between Country and Continent is that the Country is a distinct region in geography; a broad term that can include political divisions or regions associated with distinct political characteristics and Continent is a very large landmass.
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Country
A country is a region that is identified as a distinct entity in political geography.
A country may be an independent sovereign state or part of a larger state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with sets of previously independent or differently associated people with distinct political characteristics. Regardless of the physical geography, in the modern internationally accepted legal definition as defined by the League of Nations in 1937 and reaffirmed by the United Nations in 1945, a resident of a country is subject to the independent exercise of legal jurisdiction. There is no hard and fast definition of what regions are countries and which are not.
Countries can refer both to sovereign states and to other political entities, while other times it can refer only to states. For example, the CIA World Factbook uses the word in its “Country name” field to refer to “a wide variety of dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, uninhabited islands, and other entities in addition to the traditional countries or independent states”.[Note 1]
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Continent
A continent is one of several very large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, they are: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Geologically, the continents largely correspond to areas of continental crust that are found on the continental plates. However, some areas of continental crust are regions covered with water not usually included in the list of continents. Zealandia is one such area (see submerged continents below). This type of landmass is only known to exist on Earth.Islands are frequently grouped with a neighbouring continent to divide all the world’s land into geopolitical regions. Under this scheme, most of the island countries and territories in the Pacific Ocean are grouped together with the continent of Australia to form a geopolitical region called Oceania.
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Country (noun)
An area of land; a district, region. from 13th c.
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Country (noun)
A set region of land having particular human occupation or agreed limits, especially inhabited by members of the same race, language speakers etc., or associated with a given person, occupation, species etc. from 13th c.
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Country (noun)
The territory of a nation, especially an independent nation state or formerly independent nation; a political entity asserting ultimate authority over a geographical area. from 14th c.
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Country (noun)
A rural area, as opposed to a town or city; the countryside. from 16th c.
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Country (noun)
ellipsis of country musicfrom 20th c.
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Country (noun)
The rock through which a vein runs.
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Country (noun)
The female genitalia, especially the vagina.
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Country (adjective)
From or in the countryside or connected with it.
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Country (adjective)
Of or connected to country music.
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Continent (noun)
Each of the main continuous land-masses on the earth’s surface, now generally regarded as seven in number, including their related islands, continental shelves etc.
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Continent (noun)
A large the Continent.
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Continent (noun)
Land (as opposed to the water).
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Continent (adjective)
Exercising self-restraint; controlled, temperate with respect to one’s bodily needs or passions, especially sex, urination and/or defecation.
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Continent (adjective)
Not interrupted; connected; continuous.
“a continent fever”
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Continent (adjective)
Serving to restrain or limit; restraining; opposing.
“Which is not tomb enough and continent/To hide the slain? (Shakespeare: Hamlet, 4.4.)”
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Country (noun)
a nation with its own government, occupying a particular territory
“the country’s increasingly precarious economic position”
“Spain, Italy, and other European countries”
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Country (noun)
the people of a nation
“the whole country took to the streets”
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Country (noun)
districts and small settlements outside large urban areas or the capital
“a country lane”
“the airfield is right out in the country”
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Country (noun)
an area or region with regard to its physical features
“a tract of wild country”
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Country (noun)
a region associated with a particular person, work, or television programme
“an old mansion in Stevenson’s ‘Kidnapped’ country”
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Country (noun)
short for country music