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

To evoke that continuum is to gesture toward the great curve of history, to remind the reader that the small is the large, and the large is the small. —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

The annual fundraiser at which they will be toasted supports the nonprofit institute by collecting funds to support independent artists year-round through labs, intensives, grants, fellowships, a continuum of support and public programming. —Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 12 Nov. 2025

The fellows are also supported through workshops prior to the lab, as well as the Sundance Institute’s yearlong continuum of support. —Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 7 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