continuous

The word “continuous” means going on without any break or interruption. In plain terms, happening non-stop, with no gaps or pauses.

“Continuous” is pronounced kuhn-TIHN-yoo-uhs (/kənˈtɪn.juː.əs/ in IPA).

Here is “continuous” used in a sentence: “The factory runs on a continuous production line, 24 hours a day.”

Words with a similar meaning to “continuous” include amaranthine, solid, ceaseless, constant, continual and continuate.

The opposite of “continuous” — its antonyms — are discontinuous, non-continuous, noncontinuous, broken and ending.

“Continuous” is an adjective.

The word “continuous” comes from Latin. From Latin continuus ("connected, unbroken"), from continere, "to hold together." It pushed out the old native English word singal for the same idea.

“Continuous” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

'Continuous' means happening without any break or interruption, as in a continuous line or continuous rain. 'Continual' means happening repeatedly with pauses in between, as in continual interruptions. Careful writers keep the two distinct.

The continuous tense, also called the progressive, uses a form of 'be' plus a verb ending in '-ing' to show an action in progress, as in 'she is running' or 'they were waiting.' It emphasises that the action is ongoing at a particular time.

Use 'continuous' when something goes on steadily with no gaps, such as continuous noise or a continuous supply of water. Use 'continual' when the thing keeps recurring with breaks between each occurrence, such as continual complaints.

'Continuous' often pairs with words like continuous improvement, continuous flow, continuous monitoring, and continuous supply. In each case it stresses that the process runs without any break.