continue
Other forms: continued; continues; continuing
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.
Definitions of continue
-
keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last“continue the family tradition”
-
go forward, proceed
move ahead; travel onward in time or space
-
go along, go on, keep, proceed
continue a certain state, condition, or activity
-
types:
- show 11 types...
- hide 11 types...
-
re-start, restart, resume
take up or begin anew
-
hang in, hang on, hold on, persevere, persist
be persistent, refuse to stop
-
perpetuate
cause to continue or prevail
-
keep up, prolong, sustain
lengthen or extend in duration or space
-
mummify
preserve while making lifeless
-
obstinate
persist stubbornly
-
ask for it, ask for trouble
persist with actions or an attitude despite the probability that it will cause trouble
-
plug, plug away
persist in working hard
-
follow, stick to, stick with
keep to
-
keep, keep on, retain
allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature
-
eternize
cause to continue indefinitely
-
go forward, proceed
-
allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature
-
continue a certain state, condition, or activity“We continued to work into the night”
-
bear on, carry on, preserve, uphold
keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last
-
Antonyms:
-
discontinue
come to or be at an end
-
types:
-
hold
remain in a certain state, position, or condition
-
keep going, run on
continue uninterrupted
-
ride
continue undisturbed and without interference
-
bear on, carry on, preserve, uphold
-
do something repeatedly and showing no intention to stop
-
continue talking
-
continue in a place, position, or situation“She continued as deputy mayor for another year”
-
types:
- show 4 types...
- hide 4 types...
-
abide, bide, stay
dwell
-
hold over
continue a term of office past the normal period of time
-
visit
stay with as a guest
-
outstay, overstay
stay too long
-
type of:
-
be
have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)
-
continue after an interruption
-
move ahead; travel onward in time or space“She continued in the direction of the hills”
-
synonyms:
go forward, proceed
-
bear on, carry on, preserve, uphold
keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last
-
types:
- show 6 types...
- hide 6 types...
-
head
to go or travel towards
-
trace
make one's course or travel along a path; travel or pass over, around, or along
-
roar
act or proceed in a riotous, turbulent, or disorderly way
-
limp
proceed slowly or with difficulty
-
wander
go via an indirect route or at no set pace
-
make, take
head into a specified direction
-
bear on, carry on, preserve, uphold
-
span an interval of distance, space or time“The Archipelago continues for another 500 miles”
-
cover
hold within range of an aimed firearm
-
types:
- show 9 types...
- hide 9 types...
-
cross, span, sweep, traverse
to cover or extend over an area or time period
-
sweep
cover the entire range of
-
overlap
extend over and cover a part of
-
overspread, spread
spread across or over
-
ridge
extend in ridges
-
constellate, dot, stud
scatter or intersperse like dots or studs
-
rake
sweep the length of
-
imbricate
overlap
-
transgress
spread over land, especially along a subsiding shoreline
-
type of:
-
be
occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere
-
cover
-
exist over a prolonged period of time“The bad weather continued for two more weeks”
-
types:
- show 6 types...
- hide 6 types...
-
carry, extend
continue or extend
-
die hard, endure, persist, prevail, run
continue to exist
-
stand
be in effect; be or remain in force
-
carry over
transfer or persist from one stage or sphere of activity to another
-
reverberate
have a long or continuing effect
-
wash
admit to testing or proof
-
type of:
-
be
have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)
Pronunciation
US
/kənˈtɪnju/
UK
/kənˈtɪnju/
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘continue'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
Send us feedback
Word Family
EDITOR'S CHOICE
Look up continue for the last time
Close your vocabulary gaps with personalized learning that focuses on teaching the words you need to know.
