break and continue
- C++ course
- Beginner
- Lesson 46/116
- 4 min
Learn to exit a loop with break and skip with continue.
break and continue
There are two ways to control loop flow: break exits the loop entirely, continue skips the current iteration and goes to the next. Both are used inside the loop body.
For example for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) { if (i == 3) break; std::cout << i; } ends the loop when i is 3; the output is 012. Replacing break with continue skips i 3 and the output becomes 0134....
break vs continue
break and continue look similar but behave very differently. break ends the loop entirely and the program moves to the next statement. continue skips only the current iteration; if the condition still holds, the next iteration runs.
You use break when searching and the first match is found; you use continue to skip elements that meet a certain condition. In nested loops, break exits only the innermost loop; advanced code uses goto or a flag variable to work around this.
Practice Stop at 3 (break)
Inside a for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) loop, stop the loop with if (i == 3) break;. On each iteration print i with std::cout << i;. The output must be 012.
Starter code
#include <iostream>
int main() {
// Print with for and break
return 0;
}Sample solution
#include <iostream>
int main() {
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
if (i == 3) break;
std::cout << i;
}
std::cout << std::endl;
return 0;
}Expected output
012
Questions and answers
Review the lesson questions together with their answers. To test yourself, solve the lesson interactively.
1 Match each keyword to its effect
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
break |
Exits the loop |
continue |
Skips to next iteration |
return |
Exits the function |
throw |
Raises an exception |
2 Write the continue keyword
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
if (i == 2) ____;
std::cout << i;
}for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
if (i == 2) continue;
std::cout << i;
}Explanation: continue skips printing when i == 2.
3 What is the output of this loop?
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
if (i == 2) continue;
std::cout << i;
}- 01234
- 012
- 0134 Correct answer
- 234
Explanation: i = 2 is skipped; the output is 0134.