Standard Lemma guide

contiguous

adj · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK, US: /kənˈtɪɡ.ju.əs/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian: /kənˈtɪɡ.jʉ.əs/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪɡjuəs
  • CMU ARPABET: K AH0 N T IH1 G Y UW0 AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Connected; touching; abutting.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, not-comparable, sometimes

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Adjacent; neighboring.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • 1730–1774, Oliver Goldsmith, Introductory to Switzerland Though poor the peasant’s hut, his feasts though small, He sees his little lot the lot of all; Sees no contiguous palace rear its head To shame the meanness of his humble shed;

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Connecting without a break.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • the forty-eight contiguous states

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

very close or connected in space or time

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • contiguous events
  • immediate contact
  • the immediate vicinity
  • the immediate past

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: immediate

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

having a common boundary or edge; abutting; touching

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Rhode Island has two bordering states; Massachusetts and Conncecticut
  • the side of Germany conterminous with France
  • Utah and the contiguous state of Idaho
  • neighboring cities

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: adjacent, conterminous, neighboring(a)

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

connecting without a break; within a common boundary

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the 48 conterminous states
  • the contiguous 48 states

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: conterminous

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Latin contiguus (“touching”) + -ous, from contingere (“to touch”); see contingent, contact, contagion.

Across languages

Translations

122 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Amharic: የተጠጋጋ (yätäṭägaga) — connected, touching, abutting
  • Bulgarian: допиращ се (dopirašt se) — connected, touching, abutting
  • Bulgarian: граничещ (graničešt) — connected, touching, abutting
  • Catalan: contigu — connected, touching, abutting
  • Chinese Mandarin: 相接的 (xiāngjiē de) — connected, touching, abutting
  • Chinese Mandarin: 毗連的 /毗连的 (pílián de) — connected, touching, abutting
  • Danish: tilstødende — connected, touching, abutting
  • Danish: tilgrænsende — connected, touching, abutting
  • Dutch: verbonden — connected, touching, abutting
  • Finnish: liittyvä — connected, touching, abutting
  • Finnish: vierekkäinen — connected, touching, abutting
  • Finnish: viereinen — connected, touching, abutting
  • French: contigu — connected, touching, abutting
  • Galician: contiguo — connected, touching, abutting
  • Galician: estremeiro — connected, touching, abutting
  • German: angrenzend — connected, touching, abutting
  • German: zusammen — connected, touching, abutting
  • German: verbunden — connected, touching, abutting
  • German: durchgehend — connected, touching, abutting
  • German: nebeneinanderliegend — connected, touching, abutting
  • Greek: συνεχόμενος (synechómenos) — connected, touching, abutting
  • Hungarian: érintkező — connected, touching, abutting
  • Hungarian: összeérő — connected, touching, abutting
  • Hungarian: összekapcsolt — connected, touching, abutting
  • Hungarian: egybekapcsolt — connected, touching, abutting
  • Hungarian: hozzá kapcsolódó — connected, touching, abutting
  • Icelandic: aðlægur — connected, touching, abutting
  • Icelandic: samlægur — connected, touching, abutting
  • Icelandic: samliggjandi — connected, touching, abutting
  • Italian: contiguo — connected, touching, abutting
  • Māori: kāpīpiti — connected, touching, abutting
  • Māori: piritaha — connected, touching, abutting
  • Māori: whātata — connected, touching, abutting
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tilstøtende — connected, touching, abutting
  • Persian: نزدیک (nazdik) — connected, touching, abutting
  • Persian: همسایه (hamsâye) — connected, touching, abutting
  • Portuguese: contíguo — connected, touching, abutting
  • Russian: сме́жный (sméžnyj) — connected, touching, abutting
  • Russian: соприкаса́ющийся (soprikasájuščijsja) — connected, touching, abutting
  • Russian: грани́чащий (graníčaščij) — connected, touching, abutting
  • Russian: прилега́ющий (prilegájuščij) — connected, touching, abutting
  • Spanish: contiguo — connected, touching, abutting
  • Turkish: bitişik — connected, touching, abutting
  • Bulgarian: съседен (sǎseden) — adjacent, neighboring
  • Catalan: contigu — adjacent, neighboring
  • Chinese Mandarin: 鄰近的 /邻近的 (línjìn de) — adjacent, neighboring
  • Chinese Mandarin: 相鄰的 /相邻的 (xiānglín de) — adjacent, neighboring
  • Danish: nærliggende — adjacent, neighboring
  • Dutch: aangrenzend — adjacent, neighboring
  • Finnish: viereinen — adjacent, neighboring
  • Finnish: naapuri- — adjacent, neighboring
  • French: contigu — adjacent, neighboring
  • French: voisin — adjacent, neighboring
  • French: adjacent — adjacent, neighboring
  • Galician: contiguo — adjacent, neighboring
  • Galician: estremeiro — adjacent, neighboring
  • Galician: veciño — adjacent, neighboring
  • German: angrenzend — adjacent, neighboring
  • German: benachbart — adjacent, neighboring
  • German: nahe — adjacent, neighboring
  • Greek: συνεχόμενος (synechómenos) — adjacent, neighboring
  • Hungarian: szomszédos — adjacent, neighboring
  • Hungarian: határos — adjacent, neighboring
  • Hungarian: mellette fekvő/lévő — adjacent, neighboring
  • Hungarian: (egymás) melletti — adjacent, neighboring
  • Hungarian: egymás mellett fekvő/lévő — adjacent, neighboring
  • Icelandic: aðlægur — adjacent, neighboring
  • Icelandic: samlægur — adjacent, neighboring
  • Icelandic: samliggjandi — adjacent, neighboring
  • Italian: contiguo — adjacent, neighboring
  • Latin: confīnis — adjacent, neighboring
  • Māori: whātata — adjacent, neighboring
  • Māori: piritaha — adjacent, neighboring
  • Norwegian Bokmål: nærliggende — adjacent, neighboring
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: nærliggande — adjacent, neighboring
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: nærliggjande — adjacent, neighboring
  • Persian: نزدیک (nazdik) — adjacent, neighboring
  • Persian: همسایه (hamsâye) — adjacent, neighboring
  • Portuguese: contíguo — adjacent, neighboring
  • Russian: сосе́дний (sosédnij) — adjacent, neighboring
  • Russian: близлежа́щий (blizležáščij) — adjacent, neighboring
  • Russian: прилега́ющий (prilegájuščij) — adjacent, neighboring
  • Spanish: vecino — adjacent, neighboring
  • Spanish: cercano — adjacent, neighboring
  • Spanish: contiguo — adjacent, neighboring
  • Spanish: adyacente — adjacent, neighboring
  • Swedish: närliggande — adjacent, neighboring
  • Turkish: komşu — adjacent, neighboring
  • Turkish: sınırdaş — adjacent, neighboring
  • Catalan: contigu — connecting without a break
  • Chinese Mandarin: 連續的 /连续的 (liánxù de) — connecting without a break
  • Danish: sammenhængende — connecting without a break
  • Dutch: samenhangend — connecting without a break
  • Finnish: yhtenäinen — connecting without a break
  • Finnish: jatkuva — connecting without a break
  • French: contigu — connecting without a break
  • French: attenant — connecting without a break
  • French: continu — connecting without a break
  • German: zusammenhängend — connecting without a break
  • Greek: συνεχόμενος (synechómenos) — connecting without a break
  • Hungarian: egybefüggő — connecting without a break
  • Hungarian: összefüggő — connecting without a break
  • Hungarian: folyamatos — connecting without a break
  • Hungarian: folytonos — connecting without a break
  • Icelandic: samlægur — connecting without a break
  • Icelandic: samliggjandi — connecting without a break
  • Italian: contiguo — connecting without a break
  • Norwegian Bokmål: sammenhengende — connecting without a break
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: samanhengande — connecting without a break
  • Persian: پیوسته — connecting without a break
  • Portuguese: contíguo — connecting without a break
  • Russian: непреры́вный (neprerývnyj) — connecting without a break
  • Spanish: adosado — connecting without a break
  • Spanish: colindante — connecting without a break
  • Turkish: ardışık — connecting without a break
  • Turkish: kitap — connecting without a break
  • Turkish: elma — connecting without a break
  • Turkish: ekmek — connecting without a break
  • Turkish: yol — connecting without a break
  • Turkish: telefon — connecting without a break
  • Turkish: yardım — connecting without a break
  • Turkish: lütfen — connecting without a break
Real reading context

contiguous in complete knowledge articles