continuo

American  

[kuhn-tin-yoo-oh] / kənˈtɪn juˌoʊ /

noun

Music.

• continuos
  plural

1. a keyboard accompanying part consisting originally of a figured bass, which in modern scores is usually realized, and serving to provide or fill out the harmonic texture.

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continuo British  

/ kənˈtɪnjʊˌəʊ /

noun

1. music

   1. a shortened form of basso continuo See thorough bass

   2. ( as modifier )

      a continuo accompaniment

2. the thorough-bass part as played on a keyboard instrument, often supported by a cello, bassoon, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• continuos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of continuo

1715–25; < Italian: literally, continuous

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

continuo continuos

It was illuminating to hear the period-instrument orchestra—led by Geoffrey Loff, who also played keyboard—with its softer strings and prominent bassoons, though the continuo cellist struggled with coordination.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Harpsichord and viola da gamba act as soloists as well as continuo; a modern lute song is a lullaby.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025

He shunned what he called the “gigantomania” of Wilhelm Furtwängler, under whom he would uncomfortably play continuo for Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” in 1950.

From New York Times ● Feb. 17, 2022

Sagripanti also provided the musically authentic and essential fortepiano continuo that deftly knit together the score.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 16, 2017

Nature is thus declared to be free from the arbitrary and capricious agency of the gods:— Libera continuo dominis privata superbis47.

From The Roman Poets of the Republic by W. Y. Sellar

We join by putting one thing to another in close or continuos connection.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Noah Webster

The level of consciousness is associated with the capacity of that brain to find and refresh, in a continuos way, the position of the being in a model.

From The Brain, A Decoded Enigma by Dorin Teodor Moisa