con ‧ tin ‧ ue S1 W1 /kənˈtɪnjuː/ BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ continual , ↑ continued ≠ DISCONTINUED , ↑ continuous ≠ ↑ discontinuous ; noun : ↑ continuation ≠ ↑ discontinuation , ↑ continuity ≠ ↑ discontinuity ; adverb : ↑ continually , ↑ continuously ; verb : ↑ continue ≠ ↑ discontinue ]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: French ; Origin: continuer , from Latin continuare , from continuus ; ⇨ ↑ continuous ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to not stop happening, existing, or doing something ⇨ continuous , continual , discontinue
continue to do something
Sheila continued to work after she had her baby.
He will be continuing his education in the US.
I felt too sick to continue.
continue unabated/apace/unchecked (=continue at the same high speed or level)
The flood of refugees continued unabated.
continue with
He was permitted to continue with his work while in prison.
continue for
The strike continued for another four weeks.
continue doing something
Most elderly people want to continue living at home for as long as they can.
2 . [intransitive and transitive] to start again, or start doing something again, after an interruption SYN resume :
After a brief ceasefire, fighting continued.
Rescue teams will continue the search tomorrow.
continue doing something
He picked up his book and continued reading.
3 . [intransitive] to go further in the same direction
continue down/along/into etc
We continued along the road for some time.
The road continues northwards to the border.
4 . [intransitive] to stay in the same job, situation etc
continue as
Miss Silva will continue as publishing director.
5 . [intransitive and transitive] to say more after an interruption:
‘And so,’ he continued, ‘we will try harder next time.’
6 . to be continued used at the end of part of a story, a television show etc to tell people that the story has not finished yet
• • •
THESAURUS
■ to continue doing something
▪ continue to not stop doing something that you are already doing:
We need the money to continue our work.
|
They continued arguing for a long time.
|
Despite all the warnings, many people continue to smoke.
|
Sometimes she just couldn’t see the point of continuing.
|
My teacher advised me to continue with my studies.
▪ go on ( also carry on especially British English ) to continue doing something. Go on is less formal than continue , and is the phrase that people usually use in everyday English:
Dan went on talking but she was no longer listening.
|
He carried on with his day job.
|
Sheehan has carried on with her campaign.
▪ keep (on) doing something [not in progressive] to continue doing something for a long time – especially so that you feel tired or annoyed:
We kept on walking until we got to the top of the hill.
|
The man kept staring at me.
▪ persevere /ˌpɜːsəˈvɪə, ˌpɜːsɪˈvɪə $ ˌpɜːrsəˈvɪr/ to continue trying to do something in a very patient and determined way, in spite of difficulties. Persevere sounds rather formal:
He didn’t know any English, but he persevered and became a good student.
|
Her health was rapidly declining but she persevered with her duties.
|
Stevenson persevered in his efforts to discover what had really happened.
|
Children today seem less willing to seek out challenges and persevere in the face of adversity.
■ to continue to happen
▪ continue to happen without stopping:
The good weather seems likely to continue.
|
Unless there are serious negotiations, the fighting will continue.
|
Some people have lost work, and this will continue to happen until the computer system is fixed.
|
The review process is expected to continue for several weeks.
▪ last to continue – use this to say how long something continues for:
I know my good luck won’t last forever.
|
It’s not certain how long the ceasefire will last.
|
The trial lasted for six days.
|
The meeting lasted until lunchtime.
|
The training period lasted from July 2 to August 25.
▪ go on to continue, especially for a long time:
Disputes between neighbours can go on for years.
▪ carry on British English to continue, especially when there are problems:
The game carried on despite the injury of two players.
▪ drag on to continue for much longer than necessary or for longer than you want:
The meeting dragged on for another hour.
|
The talks dragged on, with no apparent hope of achieving a peaceful solution.
▪ persist formal if something bad persists, it continues to exist or happen:
See your doctor if the symptoms persist.
|
If adverse weather conditions persist, the game will be cancelled.