Mastering the C# Continue Statement: How to Skip Loop Iterations Effectively

Mastering the C# Continue Statement: How to Skip Loop Iterations Effectively

This guide explains how the continue statement works in C#, with practical examples for for, while, foreach, and nested loops.

In C#, the continue keyword allows a loop to immediately skip the remainder of the current iteration and jump to the next cycle. When encountered, control moves to the loop’s test condition (or update expression in a for loop) before the next iteration begins.

The syntax is straightforward:

continue;

Before diving into continue, ensure you’re comfortable with these fundamentals:

• for loop
• while loop
• if…else

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Example 1: Using continue with a for loop

using System;

namespace ContinueLoop
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            for (int i = 1; i <= 5; ++i)
            {
                if (i == 3)
                {
                    continue;
                }
                Console.WriteLine(i);
            }
        }
    }
}

Output

1
2
4
5

Here, the loop prints numbers 1 through 5 but skips 3 because the continue statement is triggered when i == 3.

Note: continue is most effective when paired with conditional logic like if…else.

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Example 2: Using continue with a while loop

using System;

namespace ContinueWhile
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            int i = 0;
            while (i < 5)
            {
                i++;

                if (i == 3)
                {
                    continue;
                }

                Console.WriteLine(i);
            }
        }
    }
}

Output

1
2
4
5

The behavior mirrors the for example: iteration 3 is skipped.

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How the continue Statement Works

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Using continue in Nested Loops

Nested loops are common when processing multi‑dimensional data. continue can be applied to the inner loop to skip specific inner iterations.

using System;

namespace ContinueNested
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            int sum = 0;

            // outer loop
            for (int i = 1; i <= 3; i++)
            {
                // inner loop
                for (int j = 1; j <= 3; j++)
                {
                    if (j == 2)
                    {
                        continue;
                    }
                    Console.WriteLine("i = " + i + " j = " + j);
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Output

i = 1 j = 1
i = 1 j = 3
i = 2 j = 1
i = 2 j = 3
i = 3 j = 1
i = 3 j = 3

The statement inside the inner loop skips the iteration where j == 2, preventing that specific pair from being printed.

For more on nested loops, see the dedicated C# Nested Loops article.

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Using continue with a foreach Loop

The foreach construct also supports continue, allowing you to skip specific elements in a collection.

using System;

namespace ContinueForeach
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            int[] num = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 };
            foreach (int number in num)
            {
                if (number == 3)
                {
                    continue;
                }
                Console.WriteLine(number);
            }
        }
    }
}

Output

1
2
4
5

When the loop encounters the value 3, the continue statement causes the remainder of that iteration to be skipped, so 3 never appears in the output.