quotation mark

Sometimes quote mark

noun

1. one of the marks used to indicate the beginning and end of a quotation, in English usually shown as “ at the beginning and ” at the end, or, for a quotation within a quotation, of single marks of this kind, as “He said, ‘I will go.’ ” Frequently, especially in Great Britain, single marks are used instead of double, the latter being then used for a quotation within a quotation.

quotation mark

noun

1. Also called: inverted comma. either of the punctuation marks used to begin or end a quotation, respectively “ and ” or ‘ and ’ in English printing and writing. When double marks are used, single marks indicate a quotation within a quotation, and vice versa

Word History and Origins

Origin of quotation mark¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

He also put quotation marks around the word congresswoman in a move to delegitimize Crockett’s stature and demeaned the progressive group of mostly women House members of color known as the Squad.

From Salon

According to MacDonald, it took his organization’s staff only a minute to put the text in quotation marks and run it through Google.

From Salon

James Joyce’s "Ulysses" rained em dashes on winding sentences that he had already stripped of quotation marks, resulting in prose so unruly that numerous reading groups are devoted specifically to parsing it.

From Salon

"I'm supposed to be on benefits and a 'free ride'," he says, using his hands to make quotation marks.

From BBC

Mr Quinn said the BBC were "manufacturing consent for genocide" by using words such as reportedly and putting quotation marks in its reporting.

From BBC