continuous
uninterrupted in time; without cessation: continuous coughing during the concert.
being in immediate connection or spatial relationship: a continuous series of blasts; a continuous row of warehouses.
Grammar. progressive (def. 7).
Origin of continuous
1confusables note For continuous
Other words from continuous
- con·tin·u·ous·ly, adverb
- con·tin·u·ous·ness, noun
- non·con·tin·u·ous, adjective
- non·con·tin·u·ous·ness, noun
- qua·si-con·tin·u·ous, adjective
- sem·i·con·tin·u·ous, adjective
- un·con·tin·u·ous, adjective
Words that may be confused with continuous
Words Nearby continuous
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use continuous in a sentence
The director, Jonathan Demme, offers us a continuous rock experience that keeps building, becoming ever more intense and euphoric.
The Stacks: Pauline Kael's Talking Heads Obsession | Pauline Kael | November 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThere had been continuous problems with the Pratt & Whitney engines.
That really hit me, the continuous flow of ideas without stopping.
The ensuing night gave me the grand migraine of my life, with throbs like the blows of an ax and continuous pinwheels.
The Stacks: H.L. Mencken on the 1904 Baltimore Fire | H.L. Mencken | October 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAfter 57 years of continuous operation, the theater closed, was sold to a private company, and scheduled for demolition.
How to Save Silent Movies: Inside New Jersey’s Cinema Paradiso | Rich Goldstein | October 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Messrs. Jennens and Bettridge commenced in 1816, and improvements in the manufacture have been many and continuous.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham | Thomas T. Harman and Walter ShowellThat the first part of this was probably quite true we can readily agree to, also that the out-put was continuous.
Antonio Stradivari | Horace William PetherickAfter 24 hours' heavy and continuous fighting a substantial success has been achieved.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian HamiltonThe west shore of Gidley Island appeared to be fronted by a continuous reef, on which some patches of dry rocks were observed.
His secret thoughts he buried beneath a continuous mental preoccupation with the vain and the trivial.
The Man from Time | Frank Belknap Long
British Dictionary definitions for continuous
/ (kənˈtɪnjʊəs) /
prolonged without interruption; unceasing: a continuous noise
in an unbroken series or pattern
maths (of a function or curve) changing gradually in value as the variable changes in value. A function f is continuous if at every value a of the independent variable the difference between f(x) and f(a) approaches zero as x approaches a: Compare discontinuous (def. 2) See also limit (def. 5)
statistics (of a variable) having a continuum of possible values so that its distribution requires integration rather than summation to determine its cumulative probability: Compare discrete (def. 3)
grammar another word for progressive (def. 8)
Origin of continuous
1usage For continuous
Derived forms of continuous
- continuously, adverb
- continuousness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for continuous
[ kən-tĭn′yōō-əs ]
Relating to a line or curve that extends without a break or irregularity.
A function in which changes, however small, to any x-value result in small changes to the corresponding y-value, without sudden jumps. Technically, a function is continuous at the point c if it meets the following condition: for any positive number ε, however small, there exists a positive number δ such that for all x within the distance δ from c, the value of f(x) will be within the distance ε from f(c). Polynomials, exponential functions, and trigonometric functions are examples of continuous functions.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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