continuum

American  

[kuhn-tin-yoo-uhm] / kənˈtɪn ju əm /

noun

• continua,
  plural
• continuums
  plural

1. a continuous extent, series, or whole.

2. Mathematics.

   1. a set of elements such that between any two of them there is a third element.

   2. the set of all real numbers.

   3. any compact, connected set containing at least two elements.

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continuum British  

/ kənˈtɪnjʊəm /

noun

1. a continuous series or whole, no part of which is perceptibly different from the adjacent parts

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• continua
  plural
• continuums
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

continuum continua continuums

Her egg-freezing decision is a part of that continuum.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

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

It lacked clear magnetic order and displayed a continuum of states, which initially pointed to a quantum spin liquid.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 22, 2026

The class a person is born into, she said, is the starting point on the continuum.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

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 doctor mentions several possible diagnoses: new daily persistent headache, migraine with aura, and hemicrania continua, a headache on one side of the head that never ends.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 17, 2016

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

For reasons like these, Aristotle had argued that continua could not consist of indivisibles.

From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2014

We are now in a position to ask the question: Is the matter in a mixture of two continua identical with that of its constituents?

From A Librarian's Open Shelf by Arthur E. Bostwick

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

What is up is down, and down is up, and truth and fiction cross into parallel continuums.

From Slate ● Feb. 5, 2019

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

Related Words

• continuity