continuously

continuously — adverb

1. happening or proceeding without any break or stop across a span of time

1.adverbB1
Definition

happening or proceeding without any break or stop across a span of time

Example

The museum's security cameras run continuously, day and night.

collocation: run continuously

Yumi checked her phone continuously during the long meeting.

collocation: check continuously

Common collocations
  • run continuously
  • work continuously
  • rain / snow continuously
  • check / monitor continuously
  • be updated continuously
  • flow continuously
Synonyms
  • constantly

    suggests something happens all the time but may allow very brief gaps

  • unceasingly

    more formal and emphatic than continuously

  • incessantly

    often used for sounds or actions that are so frequent they become annoying

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

[verb] continuously

continuously [verb]

Usage Note

Continuously means 'without any gap or break at all'. Do not confuse with continually, which means 'happening repeatedly over a period' — a machine can run continuously (no stop), whereas someone can be continually checking their watch (stopping and starting again).

Common Mistakes

It rained continually for ten hours without stopping.
It rained continuously for ten hours without stopping.
When there is no pause at all, use continuously, not continually.

Word family

  • continuous
    adjectiveB1
  • continually
    adverbB2
  • continual
    adjectiveB2
  • continuity
    nounB2
  • continuum
    nounC1
  • discontinuous
    adjectiveC2
  • discontinuously
    adverbC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

Continuously means without any break or gap at all — a straight line of time. Constantly also suggests something happens all the time, but allows for tiny gaps: you can be constantly checking email (many brief checks) but a river flows continuously (no gaps). Continually means 'again and again, repeatedly' — there are stops and starts: 'the dog barked continually through the night' (bark, pause, bark again). Incessantly is stronger and more negative, describing something that is so persistent it feels bothersome or overwhelming: 'the construction noise continued incessantly.' Choose continuously for literal uninterrupted duration, constantly for steady frequency, continually for repeated actions with gaps, and incessantly for annoying persistence.

continuouslyconstantlycontinuallyincessantly

Common collocations

Nouns

  • period
  • stretch
  • process
  • operation
  • flow

Adverbs

  • almost continuously
  • nearly continuously

Phrases

  • continuously for [time]
  • continuously since [time]

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Continuously comes from the Latin continuus, meaning 'hanging together' or 'uninterrupted', formed from continēre ('to hold together'). It passed into English through French in the 1600s. The adverb form continuously developed alongside the adjective continuous in the 17th century.