continuum

noun

con·​tin·​u·​um kən-ˈtin-yü-əm 

plural continua kən-ˈtin-yü-ə  also continuums

1

: a coherent whole characterized as a collection, sequence, or progression of values or elements varying by minute degrees

"Good" and "bad" … stand at opposite ends of a continuum instead of describing the two halves of a line.

—Wayne Shumaker

2

: the set of real numbers including both the rationals and the irrationals

broadly : a compact set which cannot be separated into two sets neither of which contains a limit point of the other

Examples of continuum in a Sentence

His motives for volunteering lie somewhere on the continuum between charitable and self-serving.

a continuum of temperatures ranging from very cold to very hot

Recent Examples on the Web

While Recognizing Its Limitations If 2025 was the year of AI, 2026 should be a continuum of that. —Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 3 Dec. 2025

The findings suggest that, although monkeys do not experience music as fully as humans do and require substantial training, beat perception may span a broader evolutionary continuum than previously believed; it is not just restricted to vocal-learning species. —Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 29 Nov. 2025

Yet the story of Caesar, and even the story of Bayazid, are given majesty and significance and weight because of all the histories that have occurred in the same continuum. —Cressida Leyshon, New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2025

Centers, home healthcare, virtual consultations, wearable devices and the 24/7 Command Centre work as a single continuum. —CBS News, 18 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin, noun derivative from neuter of Latin continuus continuous

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

continuum

noun

con·​tin·​u·​um kən-ˈtin-yə-wəm 

plural continuua

-yə-wə

also continuums

: something that is continuous and the same throughout and that is often thought of as a series of elements or values which differ by only tiny amounts

"light" and "dark" stand at opposite ends of a continuum