ellipsis
[ ih-lip-sis ]
/ ɪˈlɪp sɪs /
noun, plural el·lip·ses [ih-lip-seez] /ɪˈlɪp siz/.
Grammar.
- the omission from a sentence or other construction of one or more words that would complete or clarify the construction, as the omission of who are, while I am, or while we are from I like to interview people sitting down.
- the omission of one or more items from a construction in order to avoid repeating the identical or equivalent items that are in a preceding or following construction, as the omission of been to Paris from the second clause of I've been to Paris, but they haven't.
Printing. a mark or marks as ——, …, or * * *, to indicate an omission or suppression of letters or words.
Words nearby ellipsis
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Examples from the Web for ellipsis
British Dictionary definitions for ellipsis
ellipsis
/ (ɪˈlɪpsɪs) /
noun plural -ses (-siːz)
Also called: eclipsis omission of parts of a word or sentence
printing a sequence of three dots (…) indicating an omission in text
Word Origin for ellipsis
C16: from Latin, from Greek elleipsis omission, from elleipein to leave out, from leipein to leave
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
Cultural definitions for ellipsis
ellipsis
[ (i-lip-sis) ]
A punctuation mark (...) used most often within quotations to indicate that something has been left out. For example, if we leave out parts of the above definition, it can read: “A punctuation mark (...) used most often ... to indicate....”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.