1 a : to do something without stopping : to keep doing something in the same way as before [no obj] ▪ The team will continue with their drills until the coach is satisfied with their performance. [+ obj] ▪ Do you plan to continue working after the baby is born? = Do you plan to continue to work? ▪ The world's population continues to grow. ▪ I continue to believe [=I still believe] that we can win this election.
b [no obj] : to stay in a job or position — + as ▪ She has announced that she will continue as director [=stay in her job as the director] for another year. 2 [no obj] : to keep happening or existing : to remain active or in existence without changing or stopping
▪ The traditions will continue only as long as the next generations keep them alive. ▪ The good weather continued for several days. ▪ The lecture continued for another hour after we left. 3 [no obj] a : to go or move ahead in the same direction
▪ Exit the highway, take a right off the ramp, then continue down the street until you get to the first traffic light. ▪ Continue along this path until you come to the end. ▪ The boat continued downstream.
b : to go onward : progress
▪ The plot gets more and more intricate as the story continues. 4 : to start again after an interruption or pause : resume [no obj] ▪ The article continues in the second section of the newspaper. ▪ The play continued after the intermission. ▪ We will continue on our journey in the morning. = Our journey will continue in the morning. [+ obj] ▪ The board continued their meeting after a short break. ▪ We will continue our journey in the morning. ▪ When Mom left the room, we continued arguing. ◊When the words to be continued appear at the end of something (such as a story or television program), it has not really ended and will continue again at a later time. 5 : to begin speaking again after an interruption or pause [no obj] ▪ The teacher continued only when all the students were sitting quietly in their seats. [+ obj] ▪ “I understand what you're saying,” she continued, “but I'm not convinced your idea will work.”