quotation

[ kwoh-tey-shuhn ]

noun

1. something that is quoted; a passage quoted from a book, speech, etc.:

   a speech full of quotations from Lincoln's letters.

   Synonyms: selection, citation, extract

2. the act or practice of quoting.
3. Commerce.
   1. the statement of the current or market price of a commodity or security.
   2. the price so stated.

quotation

/ kwəʊˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. a phrase or passage from a book, poem, play, etc, remembered and spoken, esp to illustrate succinctly or support a point or an argument
2. the act or habit of quoting from books, plays, poems, etc
3. commerce a statement of the current market price of a security or commodity
4. an estimate of costs submitted by a contractor to a prospective client; tender
5. stock exchange registration granted to a company or governmental body, enabling the shares and other securities of the company or body to be officially listed and traded
6. printing a large block of type metal that is less than type-high and is used to fill up spaces in type pages

Other Words From

• prequo·tation noun
• self-quo·tation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of quotation¹

1525–35; 1810–15 quotation fordef 3; < Medieval Latin quotātiōn- (stem of quotātiō ), equivalent to quotāt ( us ) (past participle of quotāre; quote ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

He refers to them often in conversation: bits of poetry, quotations, scenes from films.

From Los Angeles Times

I put free speech in quotations because we’re not talking about the kind of free speech people fight and die for under dictatorships or theocracies.

From Los Angeles Times

In 1989, the study reported, the Washington Post had used “African-American” 96 times in quotations, 95 times in titles and 119 times in editorials and letters.

From Salon

Shivkumar is a big thinker, an erudite physician quick with an apt quotation, whose Westwood office is stacked with Sanskrit volumes of the Mahabharata alongside books about late Bruins basketball coach John Wooden.

From Los Angeles Times

Coppola’s original screenplay, the product of years of revision and still subjected to much improvisation, swings manically between clunky dialogue and classic quotations.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• excerpt
• passage
• quote
• reference