paragraph
Americannoun
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a distinct portion of written or printed matter dealing with a particular idea, usually beginning with an indentation on a new line.
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a note, item, or brief article, as in a newspaper.
verb (used with object)
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to divide into paragraphs.
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to write or publish paragraphs about, as in a newspaper.
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to express in a paragraph.
noun
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(in a piece of writing) one of a series of subsections each usually devoted to one idea and each usually marked by the beginning of a new line, indentation, increased interlinear space, etc
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printing the character ¶, used as a reference mark or to indicate the beginning of a new paragraph
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a short article in a newspaper
verb
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to form into paragraphs
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to express or report in a paragraph
Other Word Forms
- paragraphic adjective
- paragraphically adverb
- paragraphism noun
- paragraphistical adjective
- subparagraph noun
- unparagraphed adjective
- well-paragraphed adjective
Etymology
Origin of paragraph
1515–25; earlier paragraphe < Greek paragraphḗ marked passage; para- 1, graph
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The tone of the marketing campaign bid request itself echoes that message, with its introductory paragraph pulled directly from Newsom’s State of the State speech in January.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026
Within a paragraph, Alito then suggested that Scalia would have been “appalled” by the ugliness, the coarseness of the discourse.
From Slate • Feb. 13, 2026
Many journalistic outlets that reported the story, including Salon, spelled out the specifics within the first paragraph or two.
From Salon • Jan. 21, 2026
Here's the sentence in bold, followed by the paragraph:
From BBC • Dec. 11, 2025
“I never thought I’d see the day when chess would be all over the front pages here, but confined only to one paragraph in Pravda.”
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
