What does contiguous mean?
Contiguous describes things that touch or share a common boundary, whether physical territories such as neighboring countries or more abstract sequences such as adjacent pages, time slots, or memory addresses. It derives from Latin roots meaning 'to touch upon' and carries a precise, formal tone that suits geography, law, computing, and technical description. In the United States the word has a familiar everyday role: the 'contiguous United States' refers to the 48 adjoining states, excluding Alaska and Hawaii. Contiguous is stricter than its near-synonym 'adjacent', since adjacent things may lie close together with a small gap, whereas contiguous things must actually meet or connect. It should also be distinguished from 'continuous', which describes an unbroken whole rather than separate parts that abut one another. The noun form is contiguity.
Sharing a common border or edge; touching or adjoining along a boundary.
"Spain and Portugal are contiguous nations on the Iberian Peninsula."
In technical fields such as computer science, 'contiguous' also describes data stored in consecutive, unbroken memory locations.
Following immediately next in sequence, with no gap or interval intervening.
"The conference runs for five contiguous days in June."
The 'lower 48' isn't just slang — it's the official name for the contiguous United States, the one place where 'contiguous' is a household word.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of contiguous
Contiguous comes from the Latin verb contingere, meaning 'to touch upon' or 'to befall', formed from com- ('together') and tangere ('to touch'). It entered English in the early 17th century, initially in legal and geographical contexts describing lands that bordered one another. The same Latin root gives English words such as contact, contingent, and tangible, all of which preserve the underlying idea of touching or connection.
Related word forms
How contiguous is actually used
Contiguous is a formal word most often found in geography, law, real estate, and technical writing. In everyday American usage it is strongly associated with the 'contiguous United States' — the 48 adjoining states excluding Alaska and Hawaii. Unlike 'adjacent', which can allow a small gap between things, 'contiguous' strictly implies actual contact.
Easily confused with contiguous
'Continuous' means unbroken or uninterrupted in time or extent, while 'contiguous' means things that touch or adjoin each other while remaining distinct entities.