First Known Use: circa 1609
Dictionary
contiguous
adjective con·tig·u·ous \kən-ˈti-gyə-wəs, -gyü-əs\
—used to describe things that touch each other or are immediately next to each other
Full Definition of CONTIGUOUS
2
of angles : adjacent 2
3
: next or near in time or sequence
4
: touching or connected throughout in an unbroken sequence <contiguous row houses>
— con·tig·u·ous·ly adverb
— con·tig·u·ous·ness noun
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Examples of CONTIGUOUS
- And in the west, contiguous to Lebanon, was the mountain stronghold of Latakia … —Robert D. Kaplan, Atlantic, February 1993
- The Santa Monica Mountains, a sort of foot-note to the big contiguous ranges, stood off to the southwest of us, discrete and small. —John McPhee, New Yorker, 26 Sept. 1988
- ‘I've had my men looking into the land situation … and they think they could get us an additional thirty thousand acres, not all of it contiguous but we might make some trades.’ —James A. Michener, Texas, 1985
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Origin of CONTIGUOUS
Latin contiguus, from contingere to have contact with — more at contingent
Related to CONTIGUOUS
- Synonyms
- abutting, adjoining, bordering, conterminous, adjacent, flanking, flush, fringing, joining, juxtaposed, neighboring, skirting, touching, verging
- Antonyms
- nonadjacent, noncontiguous
Synonym Discussion of CONTIGUOUS
adjacent, adjoining, contiguous, juxtaposed mean being in close proximity. adjacent may or may not imply contact but always implies absence of anything of the same kind in between <a house with an adjacent garage>. adjoining definitely implies meeting and touching at some point or line <had adjoining rooms at the hotel>. contiguous implies having contact on all or most of one side <offices in all 48 contiguous states>. juxtaposed means placed side by side especially so as to permit comparison and contrast <a skyscraper juxtaposed to a church>.
Medical Dictionary
contiguous
adjective con·tig·u·ous \kən-ˈtig-yə-wəs\
Medical Definition of CONTIGUOUS
: being in actual contact : touching along a boundary or at a point
—con·ti·gu·ity \ˌkänt-ə-ˈgyü-ət-ē\ noun, plural con·ti·gu·it·ies
—con·tig·u·ous·ly adverb
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