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run-on sentence
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noun
a written sequence of two or more main clauses that are not separated by a period or semicolon or joined by a conjunction.
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Also called fused sentence.
Compare comma fault.
Origin of run-on sentence
First recorded in 1910–15
Words nearby run-on sentence
run-on, run one ragged, run one's eyes over, run one's head against the wall, run one's own show, run-on sentence, runout, run out of, run out on, runover, runproof
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use run-on sentence in a sentence
They used proper punctuation and even emoji, but Fred Farmer had been known for using his phone’s talk-to-text feature and frequently sending long, run-on sentences.
An Indiana man never returned from a hunting trip. Strange texts and emojis led police to his son.|Katie Shepherd|February 12, 2021|Washington Post
Cultural definitions for run-on sentence
run-on sentence
A grammatically faulty sentence in which two or more main or independent clauses are joined without a word to connect them or a punctuation mark to separate them: “The fog was thick he could not find his way home.” The error can be corrected by adding a conjunction with a comma (“The fog was thick, and he could not find his way home”) or by separating the two clauses with a semicolon (“The fog was thick; he could not find his way home”).
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.