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

Being embedded meant slowing down, listening, and understanding the genealogy of the triennial itself—seeing HT25 not as a rupture, but as part of an ongoing continuum. —Wassan Al-Khudhairi, Artforum, 2 Apr. 2026

What’s missing is a full-day, clinically robust, age-affirming program for older adults with mental health conditions, embedded within a continuum of care. —Crystal Hudson, New York Daily News, 1 Apr. 2026

Ri’s work resists binaries, instead offering a fluid continuum where transformation is constant. —Olga Garcia-Mayoral, Miami Herald, 31 Mar. 2026

Having your entire concept of the space-time continuum blown up will do that to a person. —Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2026

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