Dictionary Workbench Ondict
Word Bank Import Dict Cloud Sync

    comma

    Dictionary entry view. Switch to definition mode above when you know the meaning but not the word.

    comma
    com‧ma /ˈkɒmə $ ˈkɑːmə/ noun [countable]
     Date: 1500-1600
     Language: Latin
     Origin: 'part of a sentence', from Greek komma 'part, clause', from koptein 'to cut'
    the mark (,) used in writing to show a short pause or to separate things in a list
    ⇨ inverted comma, punctuation mark
         
    THESAURUS
    ■ types of punctuation mark
       ▪ apostrophe the sign ' that is used to show that one or more letters or numbers have been left out, as in don’t, or used before ‘s’ to show that something belongs to someone or something, as in Mark’s dog
       ▪ brackets British English, parentheses AmE and BrE formal a pair of signs used for enclosing information that interrupts a sentence
       ▪ colon the sign : that is used to introduce an explanation, example, quotation etc
       ▪ semicolon the sign ; that is used to separate words in a list, or different parts of a sentence that can be understood separately
       ▪ comma the sign , that is used to separate things in a list, or between two clauses in a sentence
       ▪ hyphen the sign – that is used to join words or syllables
       ▪ dash the sign — that is used to separate two closely related parts of a sentence, especially in more informal English
       ▪ full stop British English, period American English the sign . that is used to mark the end of a sentence or the short form of a word
       ▪ exclamation mark British English, exclamation point American English the sign ! that is used after a sentence or word that expresses surprise, anger, or excitement
       ▪ question mark the sign ? that is used at the end of a question
       ▪ quotation marks (also inverted commas British English) a pair of signs ‘ and ’ that are put around words, especially to show that you are quoting what someone has said