(uncountable) The quality of being contingent, of happening by chance. / (countable) A possibility; something which may or may not happen. A chance occurrence, especially in finance, unexpected expenses.

(grammar) A tense used to describe actions and states continued in the past.

A state in which two or more physical objects are physically touching one another or in which sections of a plane border on one another.

A light breakfast, often as served in a hotel, usually consisting of cereal, juice, and pastries, but without any fried items.

(programming) A style of programming in which every user function f takes an extra argument c known as a continuation. Whenever f would normally return a result r to its caller, it instead returns the result of applying the continuation to r.

(sports) A clock, especially in American football, that operates continuously in a one-sided game, so as to hasten the end of the contest.

(geology) The slow movement of continents explained by plate tectonics.

(nautical, historical) The United States Navy between 1775 and 1794.

(oceanography) The outer area of a land mass covered by a shallow sea that extends into open ocean.

An alternative plan to be put into operation if needed, especially in case of emergencies, or if a primary plan fails.