sentence

American  

[sen-tns] / ˈsɛn tns /

noun

• sentences
  plural

1. Grammar. a grammatical unit of one or more words that expresses an independent statement, question, request, command, exclamation, etc., and that typically has a subject as well as a predicate, as in John is here. or Is John here? In print or writing, a sentence typically begins with a capital letter and ends with appropriate punctuation; in speech it displays recognizable, communicative intonation patterns and is often marked by preceding and following pauses.

2. Law.

   1. an authoritative decision; a judicial judgment or decree, especially the judicial determination of the punishment to be inflicted on a convicted criminal.

      Knowledgeable sources say that the judge will announce the sentence early next week.

   2. the punishment itself; term.

      a three-year sentence.

3. Music. a complete idea, usually consisting of eight to sixteen measures; period.

4. Archaic. a saying, apothegm, or maxim.

5. Obsolete. an opinion given on a particular question.

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verb (used with object)

• sentences,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sentenced,
  past participle,  past
• sentencing
  present participle

1. to pronounce sentence upon; condemn to punishment.

   The judge sentenced her to six months in jail.

sentence British  

/ sɛnˈtɛnʃəl, ˈsɛntəns /

noun

1. a sequence of words capable of standing alone to make an assertion, ask a question, or give a command, usually consisting of a subject and a predicate containing a finite verb

2. the judgment formally pronounced upon a person convicted in criminal proceedings, esp the decision as to what punishment is to be imposed

3. an opinion, judgment, or decision

4. music another word for period

5. any short passage of scripture employed in liturgical use

   the funeral sentences

6. logic a well-formed expression, without variables

7. archaic a proverb, maxim, or aphorism

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verb

1. (tr) to pronounce sentence on (a convicted person) in a court of law

   the judge sentenced the murderer to life imprisonment

Grammar

A sentence is the largest grammatical unit in language. It communicates a complete thought—an assertion, question, command, or exclamation. In general, assertions and questions—the overwhelming majority of sentences—require a subject and a verb, put together in a way that can stand alone, resulting in what is called an independent clause ( main clause ): He kicked the ball is a sentence. After he kicked the ball is not a sentence; instead it is a dependent clause ( subordinate clause ). Even though it has a subject and a verb, it needs to be connected to something in order to complete the assertion: After he kicked the ball, he fell down; or He fell down after he kicked the ball. In the case of commands, the subject need not be written because “you” is understood: Go home! means You go home! And exclamations clearly express excitement, alarm, anger, or the like with no need for either a subject or a verb: Wow! Gadzooks! Ouch! In everyday speech we routinely use phrases or clauses that would not make a complete sentence—so-called sentence fragments —because the conversation or the circumstances make the meaning clear. For example, we might answer a question like “Where did you go?” with “To the store,” or “Why can’t I stay out till midnight?” with “Because I say so,” or “What are you doing?” with “Trying to fix this toaster,” instead of “I went to the store,” “You can't stay out that late because I say so,” or “I am trying to fix this toaster.” In written dialogue sentence fragments are perfectly acceptable. They would generally be regarded as sentences simply because they begin with a capital letter and end with a suitable punctuation mark. But they are not sentences in a strict grammatical sense. And as a rule, sentence fragments are frowned upon in formal or expository writing. They can be useful—indeed, powerful—but in such writing they are effective only if used sparingly, in order to achieve a deliberate special effect: We will not give up fighting for this cause. Not now. Not ever.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• resentence
  noun
• sentencer
  noun
• presentence
  verb (used with object)
• sentential
  adjective
• unsentenced
  adjective
• sententially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sentences
  plural

Participles

• sentencing
  present
• sentenced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sentence
  simple
• sentences
  simple
• have sentenced
  perfect
• has sentenced
  perfect
• am sentencing
  progressive
• are sentencing
  progressive
• is sentencing
  progressive
• have been sentencing
  perfect progressive
• has been sentencing
  perfect progressive

Past

• sentenced
  simple
• had sentenced
  perfect
• was sentencing
  progressive
• were sentencing
  progressive
• had been sentencing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sentence
  simple
• will have sentenced
  perfect
• will be sentencing
  progressive
• will have been sentencing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of sentence

First recorded in 1175–1225; (noun) Middle English, from Old French, frpm Latin sententia “opinion, decision,” equivalent to sent- (base of sentīre “to feel”) + -entia -ence; (verb) Middle English: “to pass judgment, decide judicially,” from Old French sentencier, derivative of sentence

Explanation

A sentence can be a group of words that communicate a complete thought, or it can be the punishment in a criminal case. Did your pen pal in prison write a sentence or two about the length of his sentence? Actually, both meanings of sentence — words and punishment — are linked, coming from the Latin sententia, meaning "thought or judgment," derived from the verb sentire, "to feel or perceive." If you put some words before a period, you should give some thought to your sentence. If you receive a lengthy prison sentence, you will certainly feel it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sentence sentences sentenced sentencing

Cohen already served his three-year prison sentence for campaign-finance crimes and lying to Congress.

From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026

The court heard the offence can bring a six-month sentence.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

Holt received a sentence of 20 hours of community service and was required to write letters of apology to the school and neighborhood.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Prosecutors have asked the court to limit his maximum sentence to 30 years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

And then she spoke the most powerful and exhausting, the bravest, most exasperating and galvanic sentence in the human language.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

A total of 56 people were given jail sentences -- including Xu's two sons -- with the shortest term one year and 10 months, China's state news agency Xinhua reported.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

The novel’s length is daunting, but the writing is swift and eventful, often expressed in coursing run-on sentences.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Under changes to the Sentencing Act made this year, Cole and Bowers will become eligible for release in January after serving half of their sentences.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

That is the argument, delivered in full sentences, on the record, to a reporter, by the people it benefits.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

For example, listen to the phrases in the melody of "The Riddle Song" and see how they line up with the four sentences in the song.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

One of them was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole, and the other was paroled after cooperating with investigators.

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026

York was sentenced to two days in county jail, with credit for the day he has already served, and ordered to pay a $1,150 fine, the court file shows.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

Introduced to ease prison overcrowding, on 4 August the policy was updated so people sentenced for rape, serious child sex offences and grooming would not be eligible for early release.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

Khan has been in jail since 2023 and was sentenced late last year along with his wife to 17 years on corruption charges they both deny.

From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026

Once Dasch was sentenced to prison, he stopped helping the government.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

Wang faces up to 10 years in prison during her sentencing hearing scheduled for October.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

Gibson's barrister asked the judge at Bristol Crown Court, Recorder Jaron Crooknorth, to defer sentencing and said that it would give him time to earn money with which to repay the victims.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

He noted that she'd already spent 15 months in solitary confinement at the time of her sentencing.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

The judge in that case scheduled his sentencing for Dec. 18.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

After three trips to New Orleans for sentencing hearings, we still did not have a new sentence for Mr. Carter or Mr. Caston.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Related Words

• censure
• decision
• edict
• judgment
• order
• penalty
• punishment
• ruling
• term
• verdict