Analogue (also spelled analog) describes things that work through continuous physical changes rather than digital on-off switches. An old-fashioned clock with hands that sweep smoothly around the face is an analogue clock, while one that displays “3:47” in numbers is digital. A vinyl record is analogue because music is stored as actual grooves that a needle follows, creating sound through physical vibration.

In an analogue device, the thing doing the measuring or storing resembles what it represents: the hands on a clock move continuously like time itself passes, and the wiggly grooves in a record look like the sound waves they produce.

People often contrast analogue with digital. A thermometer with red liquid rising in a tube is analogue because the liquid moves smoothly up and down. A thermometer showing “72°” on a screen is digital because it jumps from number to number. Neither is better, they're just different approaches. Digital devices are often more precise and easier to copy, while analogue devices can capture subtle, continuous changes that digital sometimes misses.

You might hear adults talk nostalgically about “the analogue era,” when photographs were printed on paper, music came on tapes and records, and phones had dials instead of touchscreens.