break, continue & Loop else

Three statements fine-tune how loops run: break exits a loop early, continue skips to the next pass, and a loop's else block runs only if the loop finished without hitting break. Together they express common search-and-filter patterns cleanly.

break

PY break.py

orders = [120, 45, 300, 80, 999, 60]

for amount in orders:
    if amount > 500:
        print(f"Suspicious order {amount} — stopping review")
        break
    print("Approved", amount)

Output

Approved 120
Approved 45
Approved 300
Approved 80
Suspicious order 999 — stopping review

After break, the loop ends immediately and the program continues after it. The last order (60) is never reviewed.

continue

PY continue.py

readings = [21.5, None, 22.1, -999, 23.4]

total = 0
count = 0
for value in readings:
    if value is None or value == -999:
        continue
    total += value
    count += 1

print(f"Average of {count} valid readings: {total / count:.2f}")

Output

Average of 3 valid readings: 22.33

continue is a clean way to skip invalid items without wrapping the rest of the loop in an if block.

break in nested loops

break only exits the innermost loop. To stop everything, put the loops in a function and return:

PY nested.py

grid = [
    [5, 3, 8],
    [1, 42, 7],
    [9, 2, 6],
]

def find(grid, target):
    for r, row in enumerate(grid):
        for c, value in enumerate(row):
            if value == target:
                return r, c
    return None

print(find(grid, 42))
print(find(grid, 100))

Output

(1, 1)
None

Loop else

A for or while loop can have an else block. It runs when the loop ends normally — that is, without a break:

PY for_else.py

def check_password(password):
    for ch in password:
        if ch.isdigit():
            print(f"{password!r}: contains a digit ✓")
            break
    else:
        print(f"{password!r}: needs at least one digit")

check_password("secret7")
check_password("secret")

Output

'secret7': contains a digit ✓
'secret': needs at least one digit

Think of it as "no break". It's perfect for searches: the else handles the "not found" case without needing a separate found = False flag.

PY primes.py

primes = []
for n in range(2, 20):
    for divisor in range(2, int(n ** 0.5) + 1):
        if n % divisor == 0:
            break
    else:
        primes.append(n)
print(*primes)

Output

2 3 5 7 11 13 17 19

The inner loop breaks as soon as it finds a divisor; only numbers with no divisor reach the else and are collected as primes.

while … else

PY while_else.py

attempts = 0
codes = ["1111", "2222", "9999"]

while attempts < 3:
    guess = codes[attempts]
    attempts += 1
    if guess == "1234":
        print("Unlocked!")
        break
else:
    print("Locked out after", attempts, "attempts")

Output

Locked out after 3 attempts

pass, continue and break compared

Statement	Effect
`pass`	Does nothing — a placeholder where a statement is required
`continue`	Skips the rest of this pass; the loop carries on
`break`	Leaves the loop entirely; its `else` doesn't run
`return`	Leaves the whole function, and therefore every loop inside it

Often there's a shorter way

Many search loops can be replaced with built-ins:

PY builtins.py

numbers = [4, 9, 16, 25]

print(any(n > 20 for n in numbers))
print(next((n for n in numbers if n % 2 == 1), None))
print(next((n for n in numbers if n > 100), "none found"))

Output

True
9
none found

next(…, default) returns the first matching item, or the default if there isn't one — a compact alternative to a loop with break.

Try it yourself

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