semicolon

American  

[sem-i-koh-luhn] / ˈsɛm ɪˌkoʊ lən /

noun

1. the punctuation mark (;) used to indicate a major division in a sentence where a more distinct separation is felt between clauses or items on a list than is indicated by a comma, as between the two clauses of a compound sentence.

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semicolon British  

/ ˌsɛmɪˈkəʊlən /

noun

1. the punctuation mark ( ; ) used to indicate a pause intermediate in value or length between that of a comma and that of a full stop

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semicolon Cultural  

1. A punctuation mark (;) used to join two independent clauses in a sentence. The semicolon shows that the ideas in the two clauses are related: “Jack really didn't mind being left without a car; he had the house to himself.”

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Etymology

Origin of semicolon

First recorded in 1635–45; semi- + colon ¹

Compare meaning

How does semicolon compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• em dash vs. semicolon
• hyphen vs. semicolon

Explanation

A semicolon is a punctuation mark that shows you there's a pause in a sentence; semicolons separate two complete clauses. Unlike a comma, which also indicates a pause in a sentence, a semicolon is used between related independent clauses. This means wherever there's a semicolon, it can be replaced with a period; however, this results in more abrupt, shorter sentences. You can also usually replace a semicolon with a comma followed by a conjunction like and, for, or but. The first printed semicolon appeared in 1494.

Example Sentences

And on her middle finger, she wears a tattoo of a semicolon.

From Salon • Apr. 14, 2025

He was the first to print editions of Aristotle, Thucydides, Herodotus and Sophocles; the first to use italic type; and the first to use the semicolon in its modern sense.

From New York Times • Jan. 17, 2024

"Someone wise once said that the correct punctuation for a scientific advance is not an exclamation mark, but a semicolon," said Meyer.

From Science Daily • Nov. 9, 2023

A semicolon is also used to separate items in a series that contain commas.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

The semicolon is one of the most useful but least used punctuation marks.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner