paragraph

American  

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

noun

paragraphs plural

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.

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verb (used with object)

paragraphs, present (3rd person singular) paragraphed, past participle, past paragraphing present participle

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

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verb

1. to form into paragraphs

2. to express or report in a paragraph

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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• paragraphism
  noun
• subparagraph
  noun
• paragraphic
  adjective
• paragraphistical
  adjective
• unparagraphed
  adjective
• well-paragraphed
  adjective
• paragraphically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• paragraphs
  plural

Participles

• paragraphing
  present
• paragraphed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• paragraph
  simple
• paragraphs
  simple
• have paragraphed
  perfect
• has paragraphed
  perfect
• am paragraphing
  progressive
• are paragraphing
  progressive
• is paragraphing
  progressive
• have been paragraphing
  perfect progressive
• has been paragraphing
  perfect progressive

Past

• paragraphed
  simple
• had paragraphed
  perfect
• was paragraphing
  progressive
• were paragraphing
  progressive
• had been paragraphing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will paragraph
  simple
• will have paragraphed
  perfect
• will be paragraphing
  progressive
• will have been paragraphing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of paragraph

1515–25; earlier paragraphe < Greek paragraphḗ marked passage; see para- ¹, graph

Explanation

A full page of text with no visible breaks is hard to read. That’s why you break your ideas up into groups of sentences, called paragraphs. Each paragraph contains logically connected sentences about one main idea. If your teacher asks you to write a paragraph on learning vocabulary words, you will write several sentences that describe how to learn vocabulary. Each sentence will add to the topic and will connect one to the other. The length of a paragraph will vary. Your teacher might require just three or four sentences to accurately describe vocabulary learning. Unless he’s a fan of James Joyce. Then your paragraph might need to extend for pages and pages.

Example Sentences

This point is reaffirmed in Paragraph 13, which states that negotiations for a final deal will be “subject to the beginning of the implementation of Paragraphs 1, 4, 5, 10, and 11 of this memorandum.”

From Slate • Jun. 17, 2026

Paragraph 1.1 states, "Ministers of the Crown are expected to maintain high standards of behaviour and to behave in a way that upholds the highest standards of propriety".

From BBC • Jan. 29, 2023

For the men whose lives were affected by Paragraph 175, much has changed.

From New York Times • Mar. 4, 2022

In Microsoft Word, open the Paragraph Settings icon on the Home tab.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

Paragraph breaks generally coincide with the divisions between branches in the discourse tree, that is, cohesive chunks of text.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• clause
• portion
• quotation
• reading
• section
• sentence
• text
• transition
• verse