semicolon

American  

[sem-i-koh-luhn] / ˈsɛm ɪˌkoʊ lən /

noun

semicolons plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• semicolons
  plural

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

See Examples For:

semicolon semicolons

At the Constitutional Convention, he explained, one of the Framers tried to put a semicolon into the spending clause.

From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2026

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

From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2025

"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

When using a semicolon, you must have a complete sentence before and after it.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 21, 2021

A degree in English language is not a prerequisite for caring about where a bracket is preferred to a dash, or a comma needs to be replaced by a semicolon.

From "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Author

Imagine a voice-dictation AI that knows when to automatically insert semicolons; be still my writerly heart.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 24, 2026

Unlike periods and commas, em dashes aren’t integral to sentence structure; they’re a considered choice that can, but by no means have to, take the place of commas, parentheses and semicolons.

From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2025

Throughout, Murray employs linguistic choices to distinguish the perspectives, most notably in Imelda’s section, where Murray eschews punctuation: no periods, no commas, no dashes, no semicolons — only the occasional question mark.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2023

The idea that he and Robert Gottlieb, who have edited thousands of pages together, still meet prepared to go to war over semicolons defies any rational partitioning of time.

From New York Times ● Dec. 29, 2022

And she didn’t use emojis or smiley faces made of semicolons and parentheses, either.

From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway