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em dash

American  

noun

Printing.
  1. a dash one em long.


em dash British  

noun

  1. printing a dash (—) one em long

"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

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Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

Because I, a professional writer, love—love—love—an em dash.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 20, 2025

Along with the now-infamous em dash, many are renouncing words for which ChatGPT is known to have a mysterious penchant, such as delve, nestled, boast, and meticulous.

From Slate Aug. 20, 2025

But the current em dash discourse is evidence that AI hasn’t made original writing obsolete just yet.

From Salon Jun. 11, 2025

She also mentioned a more urgent priority, that her “birthdate be followed in the biographical index by an em dash, and then a blank space.”

From Seattle Times Oct. 25, 2022

P. 22, "any more if-- If you come upstairs"; space after em dash deleted.

From Salome by Emma Marshall

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