CONTINUE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does continue mean? 

• CONTINUE (verb)
  The verb CONTINUE has 10 senses:

1. continue a certain state, condition, or activity

2. continue talking

3. keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last

4. move ahead; travel onward in time or space

5. allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature

6. do something repeatedly and showing no intention to stop

7. continue after an interruption

8. continue in a place, position, or situation

9. span an interval of distance, space or time

10. exist over a prolonged period of time

  Familiarity information: CONTINUE used as a verb is familiar.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONTINUE (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Continue a certain state, condition, or activity

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

continue; go along; go on; keep; proceed

Context example:

We went on working until well past midnight

Hypernyms (to "continue" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Verb group:

bear on; carry on; continue; preserve; uphold (keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last)

continue (continue after an interruption)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "continue"):

hold (remain in a certain state, position, or condition)

keep going; run on (continue uninterrupted)

ride (continue undisturbed and without interference)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s VERB-ing

Sentence examples:

They continue to move
They continue moving

Antonym:

discontinue (come to or be at an end)

Derivation:

continuance; continuation (the act of continuing an activity without interruption)

continuation (the consequence of being lengthened in duration)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Continue talking

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

carry on; continue; go on; proceed

Context example:

carry on--pretend we are not in the room

Hypernyms (to "continue" is one way to...):

speak; talk (exchange thoughts; talk with)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "continue"):

segue (proceed without interruption; in music or talk)

jog; ramble; ramble on (continue talking or writing in a desultory manner)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE
Somebody ----s VERB-ing

Derivation:

continuation (the act of continuing an activity without interruption)

continuation (the consequence of being lengthened in duration)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

bear on; carry on; continue; preserve; uphold

Context example:

Carry on the old traditions

Hypernyms (to "continue" is one way to...):

hold; keep; maintain (cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., 'keep clean')

Verb group:

continue; go forward; proceed (move ahead; travel onward in time or space)

continue; go along; go on; keep; proceed (continue a certain state, condition, or activity)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "continue"):

keep up; prolong; sustain (lengthen or extend in duration or space)

mummify (preserve while making lifeless)

perpetuate (cause to continue or prevail)

hang in; hang on; hold on; persevere; persist (be persistent, refuse to stop)

re-start; restart; resume (take up or begin anew)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Antonym:

discontinue (put an end to a state or an activity)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Move ahead; travel onward in time or space

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

continue; go forward; proceed

Context example:

We are moving ahead in time now

Hypernyms (to "continue" is one way to...):

go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically)

Verb group:

bear on; carry on; continue; preserve; uphold (keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "continue"):

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)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Sentence example:

They continue up the hill

Derivation:

continuation (the act of continuing an activity without interruption)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

continue; keep; keep on; retain

Context example:

this garment retains its shape even after many washings

Hypernyms (to "continue" is one way to...):

keep up; prolong; sustain (lengthen or extend in duration or space)

Verb group:

continue; persist in (do something repeatedly and showing no intention to stop)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

continuation (the consequence of being lengthened in duration)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Do something repeatedly and showing no intention to stop

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

continue; persist in

Context example:

The landlord persists in asking us to move

Hypernyms (to "continue" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Verb group:

continue; keep; keep on; retain (allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

continuation (the act of continuing an activity without interruption)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Continue after an interruption

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

The demonstration continued after a break for lunch

Hypernyms (to "continue" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Verb group:

continue; go along; go on; keep; proceed (continue a certain state, condition, or activity)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

continuation (the act of continuing an activity without interruption)

continuation (the consequence of being lengthened in duration)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Continue in a place, position, or situation

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

continue; remain; stay; stay on

Context example:

She continued as deputy mayor for another year

Hypernyms (to "continue" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "continue"):

abide; bide; stay (dwell)

hold over (continue a term of office past the normal period of time)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

continuation (the consequence of being lengthened in duration)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Span an interval of distance, space or time

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

continue; cover; extend

Context example:

The Archipelago continues for another 500 miles

Hypernyms (to "continue" is one way to...):

be (occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere)

Verb group:

cover (hold within range of an aimed firearm)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "continue"):

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)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 10

Meaning:

Exist over a prolonged period of time

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

The bad weather continued for two more weeks

Hypernyms (to "continue" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "continue"):

die hard; endure; persist; prevail; run (continue to exist)

stand (be in effect; be or remain in force)

carry; extend (continue or extend)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

continuance (the period of time during which something continues)

continuation (the consequence of being lengthened in duration)

 Context examples 

The road took a sweep to the south of the town, and continued in the opposite direction to that in which we started.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

We all sprang out with the exception of Holmes, who continued to lean back with his eyes fixed upon the sky in front of him, entirely absorbed in his own thoughts.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He continued to stare at the vision of what had happened in the long ago.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Sir, I can stand this strain no longer; I shall go mad if it continues.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Mars will continue to light this lofty part of your chart until November 18.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

I stayed but two months with my wife and family, for my insatiable desire of seeing foreign countries, would suffer me to continue no longer.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

For a few moments the breathing continued to be stertorous.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

“But let that go,” Wolf Larsen continued.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

For half a day this continued.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

I continued to walk extremely fast, and to have a general idea that I was getting on.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)