continue vs stay on

continue

verb
  • To remain in a given place or condition; to remain in connection with; to abide; to stay. 

  • To make a continuation bet. 

  • To retain (someone or something) in a given state, position, etc. 

  • To proceed with (doing an activity); to prolong (an activity). 

  • To make last; to prolong. 

  • To resume. 

  • To adjourn, prorogue, put off. 

noun
  • An option allowing the player to resume play after game over, when all lives have been lost, while retaining their progress. 

stay on

verb
  • to continue in a place or situation, while others leave. 

How often have the words continue and stay on occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )