Python Break vs Continue: What's the Difference?
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Sometimes, while looping through a sequence, you may find items that you want to skip. Python provides a way to do this: the continue statement. But what if you want to exit the loop entirely? That's where the break statement comes in.
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Python break vs continue
| Statement | What it does |
|---|---|
continue |
Skips the rest of the current iteration |
break |
Exits the loop entirely |
What Does continue Do?
continue means "go directly to the next iteration of this loop." Whatever else was supposed to happen in the current iteration is skipped.
For example, if we're calculating square roots, we might want to skip negative numbers. continue lets us move on to the next number without wasting any time:
for number in range(-5, 5):
if number < 0:
continue # Skip negatives
print(f"The square root of {number} is {number**0.5}")
This would print:
The square root of 0 is 0.0
The square root of 1 is 1.0
The square root of 2 is 1.4142135623730951
The square root of 3 is 1.7320508075688772
The square root of 4 is 2.0
A continue statement immediately halts the current iteration and jumps to the next one, which saves the program from doing unnecessary work.
What Does break Do?
We can use continue to skip to the next iteration in a loop, but what if we want to exit the loop entirely? That's where the break statement comes in.
for n in range(42):
print(f"{n} * {n} = {n * n}")
if n * n > 150:
break
This code would loop from 0 all the way to 41, but it actually exits early. Once n * n is greater than 150, the break statement executes, stopping the loop. The last line printed is 13 * 13 = 169.
Use continue when you want to skip one iteration but keep looping. Use break when the loop should stop. The Python loops overview covers for, while, and range().
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between break and continue in Python?
continue skips the rest of the current iteration and starts the next one. break exits the loop entirely.
Do break and continue work in both for and while loops?
Yes. Both statements work in Python for loops and while loops.
Does break exit all nested loops in Python?
No. break exits only the innermost loop that contains it. The surrounding loops continue normally.
When should I use continue instead of break?
Use continue when you want to skip one item but keep processing later items. Use break when the loop has finished its job and should stop.
