quotation mark

American  

Sometimes quote mark

noun

1. one of the marks used to indicate the beginning and end of a quotation, in English usually shown as “ at the beginning and ” at the end, or, for a quotation within a quotation, of single marks of this kind, as “He said, ‘I will go.’ ” Frequently, especially in Great Britain, single marks are used instead of double, the latter being then used for a quotation within a quotation.

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quotation mark British  

noun

1. Also called: inverted comma.  either of the punctuation marks used to begin or end a quotation, respectively “ and ” or ‘ and ’ in English printing and writing. When double marks are used, single marks indicate a quotation within a quotation, and vice versa

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Etymology

Origin of quotation mark

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Page   19 polked to their hearts' content changed to polkaed to their hearts' content Page   3912 Quotation mark removed from the end of the line down and kisses her!

From Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Ten Christmas stories by Hale, Edward E.

Quotation mark usage was "corrected" only where the printed usage would be confusing to the reader.

From A Song of a Single Note A Love Story by Barr, Amelia Edith Huddleston