continuous

[ kuhn-tin-yoo-uhs ]
See synonyms for: continuouscontinuouslycontinuousness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. uninterrupted in time; without cessation: continuous coughing during the concert.

  2. being in immediate connection or spatial relationship: a continuous series of blasts; a continuous row of warehouses.

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Origin of continuous

1
First recorded in 1635–45; from Latin continuus “uninterrupted,” equivalent to contin(ēre) “to hold together, retain” (con- con- + -tinēre, combining form of tenēre “to hold”; cf. contain) + -uus adjective suffix; cf. -ous, contiguous

confusables note For continuous

See continual.

Other words from continuous

  • con·tin·u·ous·ly, adverb
  • con·tin·u·ous·ness, noun
  • non·con·tin·u·ous, adjective
  • non·con·tin·u·ous·ness, noun
  • qua·si-con·tin·u·ous, adjective
  • sem·i·con·tin·u·ous, adjective
  • un·con·tin·u·ous, adjective

Words that may be confused with continuous

Words Nearby continuous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use continuous in a sentence

  • It’s no secret that small businesses everywhere face a continuous struggle for survival as they compete against national chains and online competition.

  • During her FKT attempt, she received continuous en route support from Warren Doyle, a nine-time AT finisher and founder of the Appalachian Trail Institute—a preparatory program for aspiring thru-hikers.

  • Through Medicare, if a patient is terminally ill and has a life expectancy of six months or less, they can access on-call nursing assistance, medical equipment and prescriptions, as well as continuous care in crisis moments when symptoms flare.

    Sent Home to Die | by Annie Waldman and Joshua Kaplan | September 2, 2020 | ProPublica
  • Our lineup of founders include Sonny Vu, whose last startup, Misfit, was acquired by Apple, and is currently the chief executive officer of continuous carbon-fiber 3D printing company Arevo.

  • The unit’s travel size doesn’t leave room for many features, but it can be set to deliver single, double, or triple pulses of water, or a continuous stream.

    Water flossers that get between your teeth | PopSci Commerce Team | August 27, 2020 | Popular-Science

British Dictionary definitions for continuous

continuous

/ (kənˈtɪnjʊəs) /


adjective
  1. prolonged without interruption; unceasing: a continuous noise

  2. in an unbroken series or pattern

  1. maths (of a function or curve) changing gradually in value as the variable changes in value. A function f is continuous if at every value a of the independent variable the difference between f(x) and f(a) approaches zero as x approaches a: Compare discontinuous (def. 2) See also limit (def. 5)

  2. statistics (of a variable) having a continuum of possible values so that its distribution requires integration rather than summation to determine its cumulative probability: Compare discrete (def. 3)

  3. grammar another word for progressive (def. 8)

Origin of continuous

1
C17: from Latin continuus, from continēre to hold together, contain

usage For continuous

Both continual and continuous can be used to say that something continues without interruption, but only continual can correctly be used to say that something keeps happening repeatedly

Derived forms of continuous

  • continuously, adverb
  • continuousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for continuous

continuous

[ kən-tĭnyōō-əs ]


  1. Relating to a line or curve that extends without a break or irregularity.

  2. A function in which changes, however small, to any x-value result in small changes to the corresponding y-value, without sudden jumps. Technically, a function is continuous at the point c if it meets the following condition: for any positive number ε, however small, there exists a positive number δ such that for all x within the distance δ from c, the value of f(x) will be within the distance ε from f(c). Polynomials, exponential functions, and trigonometric functions are examples of continuous functions.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.