continuum
Americannoun
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continua,
plural
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continuums
plural
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a continuous extent, series, or whole.
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Mathematics.
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a set of elements such that between any two of them there is a third element.
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the set of all real numbers.
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any compact, connected set containing at least two elements.
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noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of continuum
1640–50; < Latin, noun use of neuter of continuus continuous
Explanation
A continuum is something that keeps on going, changing slowly over time, like the continuum of the four seasons. In addition to meaning "a whole made up of many parts," continuum, pronounced "kon-TIN-yoo-um," can describe a range that is always present. For example, in a high school, at any time, there are students who are learning algebra, then advancing to geometry, trigonometry, and calculus. Just as the ninth graders master their particular math, they move on to the next one, as new ninth graders enter the school and the seniors graduate.
Vocabulary lists containing continuum
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Brown Girl Dreaming
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A Mango-Shaped Space
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Other research confirms that “male sexual orientation is expressed on a continuum rather than dichotomously,” as one 2020 study put it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
Tamil Nadu has long been attuned to political theatrics, where cinema and power often blur into one continuum.
From BBC ● May 5, 2026
When cooled to near absolute zero, the material can settle into any one of these configurations, producing a range of observed states that resemble the continuum seen in quantum spin liquids.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 22, 2026
Pangram’s latest version now outputs scores on a continuum and is making genuine progress on these gray-zone instances, but those cases remain far less validated than the extremes.
From Slate ● Apr. 17, 2026
He needed to dig deeper to understand where the lure of technology fit on this continuum.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Models based on continua, such as the intensity of the individual's experienced trauma and invalidation, genetic and temperamental vulnerability, etcetera, may be more accurate and useful.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 1, 2022
And the people who are pushing back against the right of trans people to exist are ignoring the science that says that there are continua of features, including behavioral expression and anatomical features.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2020
THE words a luta continua shine in garish orange neon from the artwork in the lobby of South Africa’s Constitutional Court.
From Economist ● Dec. 16, 2015
Aluta continua for all women all over the world – we fight to be loved and to be protected, and thank Maya for her tremendous role in the fight.
From The Guardian ● May 29, 2014
I mean the continua of memory or personal consciousness, of time and of space.
From The Will to Believe : and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy by William James
Across the state’s six continuums of care, which are local planning bodies responsible for coordinating homeless services in a geographic area, Vancouver, Washington, and Clark County saw the biggest percentage increase over the two-year period.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 27, 2023
The federal government had recommended these continuums of care since 1994, but not until the Hearth Act was funding tied to specific metrics of effectiveness.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 14, 2022
Currently, Glendale, Long Beach and Pasadena have their own continuums of care and administer their own homeless counts and services for people on the streets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 22, 2022
Back then, they got through the rough patch with Neal proposing, but now they’re right back there again, their time continuums crossing over a rotary-dial phone.
From Slate ● Jul. 9, 2014
For a minute he paused, wondering if there were other continuums or only this one, wondering just how deep the paradox lay.
From An Empty Bottle by Mari Wolf
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
