break and continue

Big idea

break ends a loop immediately. continue skips the rest of this round and goes on to the next one.

break: stop now

for n in range(20, 40):
    if n % 7 == 0:
        print("Found", n)
        break
    print(n, "no")

output
20 no
Found 21

Once break runs, the loop is over — even though range had 18 more numbers to go.

break is handy with while True: a loop that would run forever, with the exit in the middle.

while True:
    word = input()
    if word == "stop":
        break
    print("You said", word)
print("Bye!")

input
hello
python
stop
ignored

output
You said hello
You said python
Bye!

Watch it

continue: skip this one

for n in range(1, 8):
    if n % 3 == 0:
        continue
    print(n)

1
2
4
5
7

3 and 6 hit continue, so their print is skipped — but the loop carries on.

else on a loop

A loop can have an else block. It runs only if the loop finished without a break — a neat way to say "searched everything, didn't find it":

n = 29
for d in range(2, n):
    if n % d == 0:
        print(n, "is not prime")
        break
else:
    print(n, "is prime")

output
29 is prime

pass: do nothing

A block can't be empty. pass is a placeholder that does nothing — useful while you're still writing:

for n in range(10):
    pass   # TODO

for n in range(1, 10):
    if n % 2 == 0:
        break
    print(n)

output
1
3
5
7
9

Think of it like

Flicking through a stack of photos. continue: "blurry — next one". break: "that's the one — stop looking".

Key terms

• break — Ends the loop immediately.
• continue — Skips to the next round of the loop.
• pass — A statement that does nothing.