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continuation

n.
US //kənˌtɪnjuˈeɪʃən// UK //kəntˌɪnjuːˈeɪʃən// con·tin·u·a·tion
  1. 1 carrying on (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    the act of starting again or keeping something going without stopping.

    the act or state of continuing an activity or process without interruption or after a brief pause.

    Example

    The continuation of the strike caused many problems for commuters.

    Example

    The board of directors voted for the continuation of the current policy, despite significant pressure from shareholders to pivot toward a more aggressive strategy.

  2. 2 a further part (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    a part that is added to something to make it longer or to finish it.

    something that extends, supplements, or carries on a previous part or series.

    Example

    You can read the continuation of this story on page ten.

    Example

    The second volume serves as a direct continuation of the first, picking up the narrative exactly where the previous chapter concluded.

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  1. 3 program state (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Technical Computing

    a saved record of what a computer program is doing at a specific moment so it can be restarted later.

    a data structure representing the execution state of a program at a specific point, allowing the control flow to be resumed later.

    Example

    The programmer used a continuation to handle the result of the web request.

    Example

    By capturing the current continuation, the language runtime can suspend the execution of a coroutine and resume it once the I/O operation completes.

    Usage

    Often used in the context of functional programming and asynchronous operations.

  2. 4 basketball shot (n.)
    C1 Advanced American English Sport

    a shot in basketball that counts even if a foul happened while the player was moving to shoot.

    a successful shot made with a single continuous motion beginning before a foul, which is ruled valid under specific league regulations.

    Example

    The referee ruled it was a continuation, so the basket counted.

    Example

    The veteran player expertly drew the contact while already in his shooting motion, earning a continuation and a chance for a three-point play.

Origin

From Middle English continuacion, from Old French continuation, from Latin continuātiō. Morphologically continue + -ation.

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