compound sentence

American  

noun

1. a sentence containing two or more coordinate independent clauses, usually joined by one or more conjunctions, but no dependent clause, as The lightning flashed (independent clause) and (conjunction) the rain fell (independent clause).

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compound sentence British  

noun

1. a sentence containing at least two coordinate clauses

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compound sentence Cultural  

1. A sentence that contains at least two independent clauses, often joined by conjunctions: “Dr. Watson explained his theory, and Sherlock Holmes listened quietly.” (Compare complex sentence, compound-complex sentence, and simple sentence.)

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Etymology

Origin of compound sentence

First recorded in 1765–75

Compare meaning

How does compound-sentence compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• compound sentence vs. complex sentence
• simple sentence vs. compound sentence

Example Sentences

Minimize clauses, compound sentences and transition words — such as ‘however’ or ‘thus’ — so that the reader can focus on the main message.

From Nature

Rather, it’s a compound sentence that unfolds as a list, each new idea introduced by the same phrase: “the fact that.”

From Washington Post

ANDERSON, Ind. — About two dozen students in Elysse Hamlin’s English 2 class are struggling here on this cold winter morning — about 40 minutes outside of Indianapolis — to learn simple and compound sentences.

From New York Times

By using or refraining from using these elements, we wrote simple sentences or compound sentences or compound-complex sentences.

From The Guardian

Her voice is low and she speaks in perfect compound sentences, often ending them in a smile or nod, the way some Italians end a statement with a complicit, “Yes?”

From New York Times