ellipsis

noun

el·​lip·​sis i-ˈlip-səs 

e-

plural ellipses i-ˈlip-ˌsēz 

e-

1

a

: the omission of one or more words that are obviously understood but that must be supplied to make a construction grammatically complete

b

: a sudden leap from one topic to another

2

: marks or a mark (such as … ) indicating an omission (as of words) or a pause

Examples of ellipsis in a Sentence

“Begin when ready” for “Begin when you are ready” is an example of ellipsis.

Recent Examples on the Web

Ross creates a first-person world of closeups, fadeouts, visual ellipses, and other motifs that sometimes orient us and other times alienate us. —Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2024

Utzon’s breakthrough, which happened to be years into the construction, was to reimagine the shells not as ellipses but as sections of sphere nearly 500 feet in diameter. —Michael Y. Park, Architectural Digest, 9 Dec. 2024

Adjust settings if needed using the ellipsis icon for playback speed and Auto-Play Translations. —Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 27 Nov. 2024

Belarus: The Last European Dictatorship By Andrew Wilson Yale University Press, 2012, 256 pp. Loading... Belarus sits like a large ellipsis at the center of Europe, an authoritarian puzzle to much of the outside world, worrying to its immediate neighbors, and a vexatious ally to Russia. —Andrew Wilson, Foreign Affairs, 1 Mar. 2012

Word History

Etymology

Latin, from Greek elleipsis ellipsis, ellipse, from elleipein to leave out, fall short, from en in + leipein to leave — more at in, loan

First Known Use

1540, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

ellipsis

noun

el·​lip·​sis i-ˈlip-səs 

e-

plural ellipses -ˈlip-ˌsēz 

1

: the leaving out of one or more words that are not necessary for a phrase to be understood

"begin when ready" for "begin when you are ready" is an example of ellipsis

2

: marks or a mark (as …) used to indicate that something (as words) has been left out