em dash
Americannoun
noun
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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.
Because more than any other punctuation mark, the em dash is deeply human.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
Along with the now-infamous em dash, many are renouncing words for which ChatGPT is known to have a mysterious penchant, such as delve, nestled, boast, and meticulous.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2025
It’s not as though the em dash is the first punctuation mark to get lost in intergenerational translation.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2025
She also mentioned a more urgent priority, that her “birthdate be followed in the biographical index by an em dash, and then a blank space.”
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2022
In instances such as given in the two preceding rules the en dash may sometimes serve if the em dash appears too conspicuous.
From Punctuation A Primer of Information about the Marks of Punctuation and their Use Both Grammatically and Typographically by Frederick W. (Frederick William) Hamilton
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
