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Synonyms

paragraph

American  
[par-uh-graf, -grahf] / ˈpær əˌgræf, -ˌgrɑf /

noun

  1. a distinct portion of written or printed matter dealing with a particular idea, usually beginning with an indentation on a new line.

  2. a paragraph mark.

  3. a note, item, or brief article, as in a newspaper.


verb (used with object)

  1. to divide into paragraphs.

  2. to write or publish paragraphs about, as in a newspaper.

  3. to express in a paragraph.

paragraph British  
/ ˈpærəˌɡrɑːf, -ˌɡræf, ˌpærəˈɡræfɪk /

noun

  1. (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

  2. printing the character ¶, used as a reference mark or to indicate the beginning of a new paragraph

  3. a short article in a newspaper

"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

verb

  1. to form into paragraphs

  2. to express or report in a paragraph

"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
paragraph Cultural  
  1. A basic unit of prose. It is usually composed of several sentences that together develop one central idea. The main sentence in a paragraph is called the topic sentence.


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.

“I was like, this is basically the same paragraph repeated three times,” says the 45-year-old.

From The Wall Street Journal

I scan through the remaining paragraph and sign my name at the bottom.

From Literature

Many journalistic outlets that reported the story, including Salon, spelled out the specifics within the first paragraph or two.

From Salon

The AI generated a few paragraphs, and even included my order number, using the original email as context.

From The Wall Street Journal

As we lay in bed together reading, my sighs and muttering about “frickin’ three cliches in one paragraph” caused her to throw sideways glances my way.

From Los Angeles Times