break and continue

Syntax

break;\ncontinue;

Examples

int[] numbers = { 1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 12 };

foreach (int num in numbers)
{
    if (num % 2 == 0)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Found first even number: {num}");
        break;
    }
    Console.WriteLine($"{num} is odd");
}

for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++)
{
    if (i % 2 != 0)
    {
        continue;  // skip odd numbers
    }
    Console.WriteLine(i);  // prints only even numbers
}

string[] passwords = { "abc", "password123", "hunter2!", "12345", "SecureP@ss1" };

foreach (string pwd in passwords)
{
    if (pwd.Length < 8)
    {
        continue;  // skip anything too short
    }

    if (pwd == "SecureP@ss1")
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Found the target password!");
        break;
    }

    Console.WriteLine($"Checked: {pwd}");
}

Best practices

• Use break to stop a loop as soon as further iteration is pointless, avoiding wasted work
• Use continue to skip invalid or irrelevant items cleanly instead of wrapping the rest of the loop body in a large if block
• In nested loops, remember break and continue only affect the innermost loop they are directly inside - use a labeled goto only in rare cases where that limitation genuinely matters
• Prefer restructuring logic into a separate method with an early return over deeply nested break/continue when readability suffers

At a glance

Purpose

Applications on the .NET platform

File extension

.cs

Runs in

.NET runtime

Usually used with

.NET SDK and libraries

Specifications & further reading

• C# language reference

Related C# documentation