adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of quotable
Explanation
Quotable things are so catchy or apt that you'll want to repeat them or write them down to remember them. A really funny movie is usually full of hilarious, quotable lines. When you quote something, you repeat it out loud or write it down, word for word. If the phrase or passage is good enough for this to be worthwhile, it's quotable. Shakespeare is famous for the number of quotable lines his plays contain, from "To be, or not to be: that is the question," to "A man can die but once." Quotable lines are good for speeches and yearbook quotes, as well as impressing your friends.
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.
He was an engaging, funny and self-deprecating raconteur, ready with the quotable quip and the off-the-record gossip, which always assured him of an audience.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
As ever, his language is colourful and quotable.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
“Neon Grey Midnight Green” is a record heavy on quotable lines but light on hooks, though the creative arrangements offset some of this deficiency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2025
The video is barely two minutes long, yet incessantly quotable, which any friend of mine for the last 17 years has learned at one point or another when they’ve been subjected to watching it.
From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2025
In addition to seeming eternal, ubiquitous, protean, and endlessly quotable, Franklin had the most sophisticated sense of timing among all the prominent statesmen of the revolutionary era.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
