Meaning & Definition of Continue in English

1. Continue a certain state, condition, or activity

• "Keep on working!"

• "We continued to work into the night"

• "Keep smiling"

• "We went on working until well past midnight"

2. Continue talking

• "I know it's hard," he continued, "but there is no choice"

• "Carry on--pretend we are not in the room"

3. Keep or maintain in unaltered condition

• Cause to remain or last

• "Preserve the peace in the family"

• "Continue the family tradition"

• "Carry on the old traditions"

4. Move ahead

• Travel onward in time or space

• "We proceeded towards washington"

• "She continued in the direction of the hills"

• "We are moving ahead in time now"

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

• "We cannot continue several servants any longer"

• "She retains a lawyer"

• "The family's fortune waned and they could not keep their household staff"

• "Our grant has run out and we cannot keep you on"

• "We kept the work going as long as we could"

• "She retained her composure"

• "This garment retains its shape even after many washings"

6. Do something repeatedly and showing no intention to stop

• "We continued our research into the cause of the illness"

• "The landlord persists in asking us to move"

7. Continue after an interruption

• "The demonstration continued after a break for lunch"

8. Continue in a place, position, or situation

• "After graduation, she stayed on in cambridge as a student adviser"

• "Stay with me, please"

• "Despite student protests, he remained dean for another year"

• "She continued as deputy mayor for another year"

9. Span an interval of distance, space or time

• "The war extended over five years"

• "The period covered the turn of the century"

• "My land extends over the hills on the horizon"

• "This farm covers some 200 acres"

• "The archipelago continues for another 500 miles"

10. Exist over a prolonged period of time

• "The bad weather continued for two more weeks"