quote-unquote

British

interjection

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.

“Everyone is mad at us—the quote-unquote rich people on Baxter Road,” said William Cohan, a journalist and former banker.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

Back then, I didn’t realize we were in the quote-unquote ghetto or in the hood or anything — I didn’t really know the difference.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 5, 2024

And it’s because they’re humans and not just quote-unquote Vietnamese people that we’ve been told growing up.

From Salon • May 20, 2024

Because things didn’t happen in the normal quote-unquote alternative way — two indie records, tours all over — the reaction was that this was a manufactured band.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2024

“Yeah, I just...are you seriously implying that seeing Hamilton and quote-unquote ‘just hanging out’ are two equally good alternatives?”

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