apostrophe

¹ American  

[uh-pos-truh-fee] / əˈpɒs trə fi /

noun

1. the 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.

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apostrophe ² American  

[uh-pos-truh-fee] / əˈpɒs trə fi /

noun

Rhetoric.

1. 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?”

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apostrophe ¹ British  

/ əˈpɒstrəfɪ, ˌæpəˈstrɒfɪk /

noun

1. rhetoric a digression from a discourse, esp an address to an imaginary or absent person or a personification

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apostrophe ² British  

/ əˈpɒstrəfɪ /

noun

1. 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

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apostrophe Cultural  

1. 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).

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Other Word Forms

• apostrophic adjective

Etymology

Origin of apostrophe¹

1580–90; < Middle French (with pronunciation later altered by confusion with apostrophe ² ), replacing earlier apostrophus < Late Latin (> Middle French ) < Greek apóstrophos ( prosōidía ) eliding (mark), literally, (mark) of turning away, verbid of apostréphein to turn away, equivalent to apo- apo- + stréphein to turn; see strophe

Origin of apostrophe²

1525–35; < Late Latin < Greek apostrophḗ a turning away, equivalent to apostroph- (verbid of apostréphein; see apostrophe ¹) + -ē noun suffix

Explanation

An apostrophe is a punctuation mark used in contractions to replace missing letters. The contraction "we'll" stands for "we will," with the apostrophe replacing "wi." It can also show possession, as in "Mary's car." The apostrophe indicates the car belongs to Mary. To correctly pronounce apostrophe, accent the second syllable: "uh-POSS-truh-fee." In addition to being a punctuation mark, apostrophe can also be a literary device in which the speaker of a poem talks to someone who is not there. A famous example of this is Walt Whitman's "O Captain! My Captain!" in which he addresses the deceased Abraham Lincoln: "O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells."

Example Sentences

Even then, the apostrophe in the logo was a pepper.

From Slate • Aug. 11, 2025

“If you get rid of the apostrophe, what’s next?” said Mr. Wood, who has spent years teaching students the rules of English grammar.

From New York Times • May 10, 2024

North Yorkshire Council said it "along with many others across the country" had opted to "eliminate" the apostrophe from street signs.

From BBC • May 5, 2024

On my first day on set on “Mad Men,” I had to do another take because I’d left out an apostrophe.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 28, 2023

Who’s is short for who is, and the apostrophe replaces the missing i in is.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

Related Words

• detour
• footnote