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quote-unquote

British  

interjection

  1. an expression used before or part before and part after a quotation to identify it as such, and sometimes to dissociate the writer or speaker from it

"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

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.

“We think TV budgets could be spent on YouTube. We think quote-unquote ‘social budgets’ could be spent on YouTube,” said Sean Downey, president, Americas and global partners at YouTube parent Google.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026

Swan, herself no stranger to the wellness-podcast circuit, was careful to insert the caveat that the film is “not a quote-unquote ‘scientific study.’

From Slate • Apr. 16, 2026

Madigan: Well, I can’t say that I’ve read 1,500 books about alchemy and quote-unquote witchcraft and things like that.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026

“They, quote-unquote, innovated by taking what others have created and using it to build their own product,” Muller said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 20, 2026

The only time I ever quote-unquote borrow something is when I need him to spot me some lunch money.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

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.