continuous function

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

contin′uous func′tion, [Math.]

1. Mathematics (loosely) a mathematical function such that a small change in the independent variable, or point of the domain, produces only a small change in the value of the function.
2. Mathematics (at a point in its domain) a function that has a limit equal to the value of the function at the point;
   a function that has the property that for any small number, a second number can be found such that when the distance between any other point in the domain and the given point is less than the second number, the difference in the functional values at the two points is less than the first number in absolute value.
3. Mathematics (at a point in a topological space) a function having the property that for any open set containing the image of the point, an open set about the given point can be found such that the image of the set is contained in the first open set.
4. Mathematics (on a set in the domain of the function or in a topological space) a function that is continuous at every point of the set.