continue
Americanverb (used without object)
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to go on after suspension or interruption.
The program continued after an intermission.
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to go on or keep on, as in some course or action; extend.
The road continues for three miles.
- Antonyms:
- cease
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to last or endure.
The strike continued for two months.
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to remain in a particular state or capacity.
The general agreed to continue in command of the army.
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to remain in a place; abide; stay.
Let us continue in this house forever.
verb (used with object)
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to go on with or persist in.
to continue an action.
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to carry on from the point of suspension or interruption.
He continued the concert after the latecomers were seated.
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to extend from one point to another in space; prolong.
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to say in continuation.
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to cause to last or endure; maintain or retain, as in a position.
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to carry over, postpone, or adjourn; keep pending, as a legal proceeding.
verb
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(when tr, may take an infinitive) to remain or cause to remain in a particular condition, capacity, or place
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(when tr, may take an infinitive) to carry on uninterruptedly (a course of action); persist in (something)
he continued running
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(when tr, may take an infinitive) to resume after an interruption
we'll continue after lunch
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to draw out or be drawn out; prolong or be prolonged
continue the chord until it meets the tangent
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(tr) law to postpone or adjourn (legal proceedings)
Usage
Where does continue come from? Continue entered English around 1300–50. Coming into English through French, continue ultimately comes from the Latin continuāre, meaning “to make all one, join together, connect.” This verb could also mean, much like its English derivative, “to carry on, draw out, prolong, last”—that is, to continue. The Latin verb continuāre is formed from the adjective continuus. Does continuus look familiar? It’s the direct source of the English continuous, meaning “uninterrupted in time; without cessation” or “being in immediate connection or spatial relationship.”The Latin adjective continuus meant “uninterrupted, unbroken, continuous.” That’s right: continuus meant, well, continuous. Sometimes, there is a great a deal of continuity in word development. But we’re not done yet. The Latin continuus is itself ultimately based on another verb, continēre, “to hold or keep together.” So, something that continues—that is, it goes on, keeps on, or endures in some way—stays all held together, in an etymological manner of speaking. Dig deeperWe noted above that continue is ultimately connected to continēre, “to hold together.” Continēre is the source of some other familiar English words, including contain, continent, and content. Does knowing that all these words come from a verb meaning “to hold together” give you any deeper insights into these words?For all this talk of holding things together, we can, er, continue breaking apart the roots of the Latin verb continēre. It is composed of con-, a productive prefix with the sense of “with, together,” and tenēre, “to hold.”Derivations of tenēre appears in a great many English words, including detain, detention, entertain, tenacious, tenant, tenet, retain, retention, sustain, and sustenance. But don’t be fooled. While detain is related to detention and retain to retention, contain is not related to contention, or “strife, contest, controversy.” Contention is derived from the same Latin root that gives English contend.
Synonym Usage
Continue, endure, persist, persevere, last, remain imply existing uninterruptedly for an appreciable length of time. Continue implies duration or existence without break or interruption. Endure, used of people or things, implies persistent continuance against influences that tend to weaken, undermine, or destroy. Persist and persevere, used principally of people, both imply firm and steadfast continuance in the face of opposition. Persist suggests human opposition: He persisted after he had been warned; and persevere suggests opposition from any source, often an impersonal one: He persevered despite fatigue. Last often applies to something that holds out to a desired end, fresh, unimpaired, or unexhausted, sometimes under conditions that tend to produce the opposite effect: They had provisions enough to last all winter. Remain is especially applied to what continues without change in its essential state: He remained a bachelor.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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continuernoun
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continuableadjective
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noncontinuableadjective
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continuinglyadverb
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noncontinuablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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continuesimple
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continuessimple
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have continuedperfect
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has continuedperfect
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am continuingprogressive
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are continuingprogressive
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is continuingprogressive
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have been continuingperfect progressive
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has been continuingperfect progressive
Past
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continuedsimple
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had continuedperfect
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was continuingprogressive
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were continuingprogressive
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had been continuingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of continue
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin continuāre “to make all one,” verbal derivative of continuus continuous
Explanation
To continue an activity is to keep it going, either with or without interruption. If you ask the newspaper to continue delivering your paper while you are on vacation, you want to receive all the news while you’re away. The verb continue is related to the word continuous, from the Latin word continuare, meaning “join together” or “connect.” When anything goes on without a break, like the middle school variety show, it continues, uninterrupted. You can also continue something that was paused or set aside. You could, for instance, continue watching the movie that you paused when the pizza was delivered and then continue to drive your parents crazy by texting your friends while watching the movie with them.
Vocabulary lists containing continue
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"Zlateh the Goat"
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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:
“The Commission found that streaming platforms offering children’s content will continue to act as a competitive constraint on the merged entity’s TV channels,” the agency said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
It was later confirmed that Menzies was cleared by medics backstage but was unable to return to the stage to continue, and so forfeited the match.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Ananas said unless Fedorov returned, the discontent was likely to continue.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
What that means to Turnquist is that chip investors can continue to expect a lot of turbulence for the SMH ETF in the short term.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
As we continue to sit there, waiting for something that may or may not appear, I find myself telling Eddie more about the Ranch than I mean to.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
The decision to hold came despite mounting external pressure, as the rupiah continues to hover near record lows against the dollar, having shed roughly 7% for the year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
"Three decades on, its scale and influence remain extraordinary - a defining British record that continues to unite generations, fill stadiums and soundtrack lives," they noted.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Paramount Skydance has notched a needed win as it continues to pursue its $111-billion deal to buy Warner Bros.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
As AI technology continues to evolve, many Hollywood creatives have grown concerned about how their work is being used to train AI models without their permission and compensation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
He continues to groom himself while I chew the proposition over.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
She continued: "Too many survivors are expected to revisit the most traumatic experiences of their lives without the level of support they truly need."
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Wadephul's promise of continued security and humanitarian cooperation, however, comes as Germany's foreign aid budget has been cut repeatedly.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
“With a backlog of $176 billion, continued revenue growth and margin expansion, and significant free cash flow generation, GE Vernova’s momentum is building, and we are raising our 2026 financial guidance.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Treasury yields were steady—with the 10-year yield close to an earlier two-month high—as oil prices rose and Middle East strikes continued.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
“Around here, October is the best month for powwows,” Ethan continued, taking a sip of his pop.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Kingscote said the local restrictions did not prevent Parke from continuing to work elsewhere and he should have been banned nationally.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Intel is continuing to put its limited supply of front-end wafers toward server chips rather than PC chips, Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland said in a note to clients.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
But with AI-generated answers to queries reducing clicks to outside websites, Reddit executives are assessing what the upside is of continuing to feed its content to Google, said the people familiar with the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Rescue operations are continuing to locate 13 others who are reported to be trapped in the tunnel since Monday's collapse.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
She’s sweating and wincing as she walks, but she’s continuing forward.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
