apostrophe
1the sign ('), as used: to indicate the omission of one or more letters in a word, whether unpronounced, as in o'er for over, or pronounced, as in gov't for government; to indicate the possessive case, as in man's; or to indicate plurals of abbreviations and symbols, as in several M.D.'s, 3's.
Origin of apostrophe
1Other words from apostrophe
- ap·os·troph·ic [ap-uh-strof-ik, -stroh-fik], /ˌæp əˈstrɒf ɪk, -ˈstroʊ fɪk/, adjective
Words Nearby apostrophe
Other definitions for apostrophe (2 of 2)
a digression in the form of an address to someone not present, or to a personified object or idea, as “O Death, where is thy sting?”
Origin of apostrophe
2Other words from apostrophe
- ap·os·troph·ic [ap-uh-strof-ik, -stroh-fik], /ˌæp əˈstrɒf ɪk, -ˈstroʊ fɪk/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use apostrophe in a sentence
Before you put in the order, send the wife a note explaining that you just realized that the apostrophe is in the wrong place and confirm that you, fortunately, caught it before it went to the printers.
Miss Manners: Time for exec’s assistant to fix grammatical error | Judith Martin, Nicholas Martin, Jacobina Martin | March 25, 2021 | Washington PostEdging in, it took nearly a minute before I could see the fungus at the center of all the fuss, a tiny ocher apostrophe hovering above the wet underbrush.
Then, someone insisted that was wrong, so she taped over the “e” and added an apostrophe.
At the end of an isolating year, even the embarrassing, frustrating, weird parts of family gatherings feel missed | Theresa Vargas | December 26, 2020 | Washington PostThat means you can spell a word like S’MORES, which involves an apostrophe, for example.
Former Apple engineer and autocorrect creator builds his first app, a word game called Up Spell | Sarah Perez | October 7, 2020 | TechCrunchRuderman, citing family reasons, eventually returned, and Osberg, Larry Platt and his apostrophe were unceremoniously removed.
How the Newspaper Business Became a ‘F**king Disgrace’ | Lloyd Grove | December 17, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
The no-apostrophe rule has been reaffirmed five times, yet punctuationists fight on.
It's Our Apostrophe, Government, And We'll Do What We Choose With It | Justin Green | May 16, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTJennifer Runyon, one of the name committee's three staffers, says: "We don't debate the apostrophe."
It's Our Apostrophe, Government, And We'll Do What We Choose With It | Justin Green | May 16, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTBefore she reached the house, Gouvernail had lighted a fresh cigar and ended his apostrophe to the night.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate Chopinapostrophe usage is not consistent in the text as in using both dont and dont.
Oliver Twist, Vol. II (of 3) | Charles DickensIn truth, there was good ground for his sorrowful apostrophe, for the scene was very painful to a high-minded witness.
Eric, or Little by Little | Frederic W. FarrarIt intentionally begins with an apostrophe, not an unmatched single quotation mark, and was left as originally printed.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive | John Stuart MillS—A—R—, and so on, the thing ran, but the whole legend was complete before that apostrophe started into its place.
In Accordance with the Evidence | Oliver Onions
British Dictionary definitions for apostrophe (1 of 2)
/ (əˈpɒstrəfɪ) /
the punctuation mark ' used to indicate the omission of a letter or number, such as he's for he has or he is, also used in English to form the possessive, as in John's father and twenty pounds' worth
Origin of apostrophe
1British Dictionary definitions for apostrophe (2 of 2)
/ (əˈpɒstrəfɪ) /
rhetoric a digression from a discourse, esp an address to an imaginary or absent person or a personification
Origin of apostrophe
2Derived forms of apostrophe
- apostrophic (ˌæpəˈstrɒfɪk), adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for apostrophe
[ (uh-pos-truh-fee) ]
A mark (') used with a noun or pronoun to indicate possession (“the student's comment,” “the people's choice”) or in a contraction to show where letters have been left out (isn't, don't, we'll).
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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