run-on sentence

American  

noun

1. 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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run-on sentence Cultural  

1. 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”).

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Etymology

Origin of run-on sentence

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

But if the above resembles a run-on sentence, here’s the reason: the Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance defies easy description.

From Seattle Times

It looked like a long run-on sentence, using just four letters — a, t, c and g — repeated 29,882 times.

From Los Angeles Times

Describing Big’s accomplishments, he rattles a run-on sentence like he’s speaking in tongues: “lied to the devil—stalked the deepest woods—hogtied panthers—drained jugs—got stung by one thousand hornets and only smiled.”

From Los Angeles Times

“The protests are just punctuation marks in a long run-on sentence,” she said.

From Washington Post

And yes, it’s usually said in a run-on sentence.

From Los Angeles Times