comma

American  

[kom-uh] / ˈkɒm ə /

noun

• commas
  plural

1. the sign (,), a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, especially when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence. It is also used to separate items in a list, to mark off thousands in numerals, to separate types or levels of information in bibliographic and other data, and, in many European countries, as a decimal point.

2. Classical Prosody.

   1. a fragment or smaller section of a colon.

   2. the part of dactylic hexameter beginning or ending with the caesura.

   3. the caesura itself.

3. Music. the minute, virtually unheard difference in pitch between two enharmonic tones, as G♯ and A♭.

4. any of several nymphalid butterflies, including the North American Polygonia comma, having a comma-shaped silver mark on the underside of each hindwing.

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comma British  

/ ˈkɒmə /

noun

1. the punctuation mark(,) indicating a slight pause in the spoken sentence and used where there is a listing of items or to separate a nonrestrictive clause or phrase from a main clause

2. music a minute interval

3. short for comma butterfly

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comma Cultural  

1. A punctuation mark (,) used to indicate pauses and to separate elements within a sentence. “The forest abounds with oak, elm, and beech trees”; “The bassoon player was born in Roanoke, Virginia, on December 29, 1957.”

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Usage

What is a comma? The comma (,) is a punctuation mark that indicates a pause in a sentence, sets off words, phrases, or clauses, separates items in a list, and performs many other functions. The comma is one of the most versatile and commonly misused punctuation marks in English. It serves many different functions in English, such as:

• Indicating a pause in speech: I was walking down the street and, um, I was hit with a pie by a clown. 
• Separating items in a list: I put my shirts, pants, and socks into my suitcase.
• Separating adjectives: LaShona has a big, hairy dog. 
• In numbers larger than 999: I bought a computer for $1,300.
• In dates and addresses: I visited Des Moines, Iowa, on October 17, 2005.

There are many more jobs commas do. For more detailed information on how to properly use commas, read our thorough guide on them.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• commas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of comma

First recorded in 1520–30; from Late Latin: “mark of punctuation,” Latin: “division of a phrase,” from Greek kómma “piece cut off” (referring to the phrase so marked), equivalent to kop- (base of kóptein “to cut, gnaw, strike”) + -ma, noun suffix

Explanation

A comma is a punctuation mark that indicates a pause in a sentence or separates items in a list. A comma is also used before the words "and" or "but" to join two independent clauses. Commas come in handy when you're writing a grocery list: "Buy candy, chocolate milk, Pop Tarts, and gum." You can also use a comma to set off an adverb at the beginning of a sentence: "Therefore, I refuse to ride the roller coaster." The word comma has been around since the 1500s, and in Latin in means "short phrase," from the Greek komma, "clause in a sentence," or literally, "piece which is cut off."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

comma commas

“Early punctuation focused on the contours of the sentence, giving us the comma, colon, and period,” Ms. Hazrat writes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Then, it coils itself into a comma, bunching up its lower half.

From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2024

"It is my understanding that he liked to use the Oxford comma," she added.

From BBC ● May 9, 2024

Wes doesn’t place a comma in by accident.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2023

And don’t forget: this comma contention was not a matter of right or wrong.

From "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Author

No document has been more examined than the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding, down to the placement of commas, as if the terms meant anything to those jockeying over it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

The review refers to the "so-called 'rules-based international order'", putting the latter phrase in inverted commas: a kind of delegitimisation by punctuation mark.

From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026

Unlike periods and commas, em dashes aren’t integral to sentence structure; they’re a considered choice that can, but by no means have to, take the place of commas, parentheses and semicolons.

From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2025

The lively canvas, hardly an illustration of an event, employs light-reflective silver and golden-brown metallic paints applied in vast fields of paisley-like commas that dematerialize into a spatially ambiguous surface shimmer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2024

When the humorist James Thurber was writing for New Yorker editor Harold Ross in the 1930s and 1940s, the two men often had very strong words about commas.

From "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Author