What does "continue" mean?
An option allowing the player to resume play after game over, when all lives have been lost, while retaining their progress.
Continue
/kənˈtɪn.juː/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An option allowing the player to resume play after game over, when all lives have been lost, while retaining their progress.
- Grammar: continue is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: carry on, extend, keep, keep on.
- Useful contrasts: deprecated, disconnected, early stopping.
- Usage evidence: Mathematics is the part of science you could continue to do if you woke up tomorrow and discovered the universe was gone.
How to use "continue"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "continue" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "continue" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "continue" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "continue" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "continue" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "carry on" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "continue", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An option allowing the player to resume play after game over, when all lives have been lost, while retaining their progress.
"So if you died battling the green monster inside the cave—and you had run out of lives—maybe a continue would be available."
Verb
- 1 To proceed with (doing an activity); to prolong (an activity). transitive
"Shall I continue speaking, or will you just interrupt me again?"
- 2 exist over a prolonged period of time wordnet
- 3 To make last; to prolong. transitive
"Can you account him wise or discreet that would willingly have his health, and yet will do nothing that should procure or continue it?"
- 4 continue talking wordnet
- 5 To retain (someone or something) in a given state, position, etc. transitive
"[…] dip the mouth of it within the second glass and remove your finger; continue it in that posture for a time, and it will unmingle the wine from the water […]"
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 move ahead; travel onward in time or space wordnet
- 7 To remain in a given place or condition; to remain in connection with; to abide; to stay. intransitive
"Here to continue, and build up here / A growing empire."
- 8 allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature wordnet
- 9 To resume. intransitive
"When will the concert continue?"
- 10 keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last wordnet
- 11 To adjourn, prorogue, put off. transitive
"This meeting has been continued to the thirteenth of July."
- 12 continue a certain state, condition, or activity wordnet
- 13 To make a continuation bet. slang
- 14 span an interval of distance, space or time wordnet
- 15 continue in a place, position, or situation wordnet
- 16 continue after an interruption wordnet
- 17 do something repeatedly and showing no intention to stop wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Mathematics is the part of science you could continue to do if you woke up tomorrow and discovered the universe was gone."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "continue"?
Common synonyms include: carry on, extend, keep, keep on, proceed, retain.
How do you use "continue" in a sentence?
Mathematics is the part of science you could continue to do if you woke up tomorrow and discovered the universe was gone.
How do you pronounce "continue"?
Pronounced /kənˈtɪn.juː/.
Etymology
From Middle English continuen, from Old French continuer, from Latin continuāre. Displaced native Middle English thurghwonen, from Old English þurhwunian.