Break and Continue Statements in C

While working with loops, sometimes we need more control over how the loop behaves.

C provides two special statements for this purpose:

• break
• continue

These statements help us control the flow inside loops in a very precise way.

The break Statement

The break statement is used to immediately terminate a loop.

When break is executed, the loop stops, and control moves to the statement after the loop.

Example: Stop Loop When Number Is Found

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int i;

    for (i = 1; i <= 10; i++) {
        if (i == 5) {
            break;
        }
        printf("%d ", i);
    }

    return 0;
}

Output:

1 2 3 4

Explanation:

• The loop starts from 1
• When i becomes 5, break executes
• The loop stops completely

The continue Statement

The continue statement is used to skip the current iteration and move to the next iteration of the loop.

Unlike break, the loop does not stop.

Example: Skip One Value

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int i;

    for (i = 1; i <= 5; i++) {
        if (i == 3) {
            continue;
        }
        printf("%d ", i);
    }

    return 0;
}

Output:

1 2 4 5

Explanation:

• When i is 3, continue is executed
• Printing is skipped only for that iteration
• The loop continues normally

break vs continue

• break completely exits the loop
• continue skips only the current iteration
• break stops loop execution
• continue moves to the next cycle

Real-World Thinking

Think of a loop as a classroom:

• break: Teacher ends the class immediately
• continue: Teacher skips one student and continues

This analogy helps remember the difference easily.

Mini Practice

• Print numbers from 1 to 10 but stop when number is 7
• Print numbers from 1 to 10 but skip number 5
• Print only odd numbers using continue

Quick Quiz

Q1. What does the break statement do?

It immediately exits the loop.

Q2. What does continue do?

It skips the current iteration and continues the loop.

Q3. Does break stop the entire program?

No, it stops only the loop.

Q4. Can continue be used outside a loop?

No, it can be used only inside loops.

Q5. Which statement is used to skip printing a value?

continue