comma

noun

com·​ma ˈkä-mə How to pronounce comma (audio)
1
: a punctuation mark, used especially as a mark of separation within the sentence
2
3
: any of several nymphalid butterflies (genus Polygonia) with a silvery comma-shaped mark on the underside of the hind wings

Examples of comma in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Laura is a proud former resident of the New Jersey shore, a competitive swimmer, and a fierce defender of the Oxford comma. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 21 Mar. 2024 Another woman brought up the case of the dairy-truck drivers in Maine who won millions of dollars in overtime because their contract lacked a serial comma. Mary Norris, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024 In these landscapes, naturalism and abstraction often battle to a pulsating draw by means of a magnified, or coarsened pointillism that recalls Seurat in its mosaic-like array of dots, dashes and commas. Roberta Smith, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2024 In 2018, a group of dairy delivery drivers in Maine won a $5 million settlement, thanks in part to the lack of an Oxford comma in a state labor law. Allison Morrow, CNN, 14 Feb. 2024 The comma neatly separates a list of things that are completely entangled, and in the process obscures the degree of violence happening to each individual person. Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 13 Feb. 2024 Other styles function as commas or accents to outfits. Erika Veurink, Vogue, 22 Dec. 2023 But Pence allegedly told Smith's investigators that the comma should have never been placed there. Katherine Faulders, ABC News, 28 Nov. 2023 The standard format is to start with a greeting — a hello, hi or good morning/afternoon plus their name — followed by a few separate paragraphs and a sign off, such as thank you, then a comma followed by your name. Danielle Abril, Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'comma.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin, from Latin, part of a sentence, from Greek komma segment, clause, from koptein to cut — more at capon

First Known Use

1554, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of comma was in 1554

Dictionary Entries Near comma

Cite this Entry

“Comma.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comma. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

comma

noun
com·​ma ˈkäm-ə How to pronounce comma (audio)
: a punctuation mark , used chiefly to show separation of words or word groups within a sentence
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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