comma

The comma ( , ) is one of the most commonly used punctuation marks in English. Commas are the same in appearance as apostrophes ( ’ ), but are placed on the bottom line of the text, in the same location as periods.

Generally speaking, commas are used to connect two or more elements in a sentence, but the way in which they do this varies widely, depending on what these elements are and how they are arranged in the sentence.

comma

punctuation mark (,) that indicates a pause in a sentence: A misplaced comma can convey a very different meaning.

Not to be confused with:

coma – deep prolonged unconsciousness

com·ma

(kŏm′ə)

1. Grammar A punctuation mark ( , ) used to indicate a separation of ideas or of elements within the structure of a sentence.

2. A pause or separation; a caesura.

3. Any of several nymphalid butterflies of the genus Polygonia having wings with irregularly notched edges and a small comma-shaped marking on the underside of the hind wing.

[Latin, from Greek komma, piece cut off, short clause, from koptein, to cut.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

comma

(ˈkɒmə)

1. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) the punctuation mark(,) indicating a slight pause in the spoken sentence and used where there is a listing of items or to separate a nonrestrictive clause or phrase from a main clause

2. (Music, other) music a minute interval

3. (Animals) short for comma butterfly

[C16: from Latin, from Greek komma clause, from koptein to cut]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

com•ma

(ˈkɒm ə)

n., pl. -mas.

1. the sign (,), a mark of punctuation used to indicate a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, to separate items in a list, to mark off thousands in numerals, to separate types or levels of information in bibliographic and other data, and, in Europe, as a decimal point.

2. a brown and black nymphalid butterfly, Polygonia comma, with a silver comma mark on the underwing.

[1520–30; < Late Latin: mark of punctuation, Latin: division of a phrase < Greek kómma piece cut off (referring to the phrase so marked) <kóptein to strike, chop]

comma

A punctuation mark (,) used to separate items in a list or indicate a brief pause.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	comma - a punctuation mark (,) used to indicate the separation of elements within the grammatical structure of a sentence punctuation mark, punctuation - the marks used to clarify meaning by indicating separation of words into sentences and clauses and phrases
	2.	comma - anglewing butterfly with a comma-shaped mark on the underside of each hind wing comma butterfly, Polygonia comma brush-footed butterfly, four-footed butterfly, nymphalid, nymphalid butterfly - medium to large butterflies found worldwide typically having brightly colored wings and much-reduced nonfunctional forelegs carried folded on the breast genus Polygonia, Polygonia - comma butterflies

Translations

فَاصِلَةفاصِلَه

čárka

komma

Komma BeistrichC-Falter

komo

pilkku

zarez

vesszõvessző

komma

virgola virgolette comma

コンマ

쉼표

kablelis

komats

virgulă

čiarka

vejica

komma

เครื่องหมายลูกน้ำ

virgül

dấu phẩy

逗号

comma

[ˈkɒmə] N → coma f
see also inverted

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

comma

[ˈkɒmə] n → virgule f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

comma

n → Komma nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

comma

[ˈkɒmə] n → virgola

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

comma

(ˈkomə) noun

the punctuation mark (,) used to show a slight pause etc.

comma

→ فَاصِلَة čárka komma Komma κόμμα coma pilkku virgule zarez virgola コンマ 쉼표 komma komma przecinek vírgula запятая komma เครื่องหมายลูกน้ำ virgül dấu phẩy 逗号

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

You see I left off at a comma, and it's so awkward not knowing how the sentence finishes!

View in context

He set down her basket and the tin pot, and stirring the paint with the brush that was in it began painting large square letters on the middle board of the three composing the stile, placing a comma after each word, as if to give pause while that word was driven well home to the reader's heart--

View in context

Nearer and nearer waltzed Gagool, looking for all the world like an animated crooked stick or comma, her horrid eyes gleaming and glowing with a most unholy lustre.

View in context

Can you think of anything hardly bigger than a comma which the man with hell in his heart had to tear away as a testimony against him?"

View in context

For you ought to stop twice as long at a semicolon as you do at a comma, and you make the longest stops where there ought to be no stop at all."

View in context

'Indeed I have little doubt,' said Flora, running on with astonishing speed, and pointing her conversation with nothing but commas, and very few of them, 'that you are married to some Chinese lady, being in China so long and being in business and naturally desirous to settle and extend your connection nothing was more likely than that you should propose to a Chinese lady and nothing was more natural I am sure than that the Chinese lady should accept you and think herself very well off too, I only hope she's not a Pagodian dissenter.'

View in context

" The poet Richard Eberhart hailed this unorthodox use of the comma, writing to Villa on June 26, 1949: "The arbitrary and perfectionist technique (so that not once does the machinery not click or work) of the comma is somehow, I don't know, enlivening it is a trick that refreshes, you know it is a trick and accept it, and in spite of yourself you read right through the commas, so to speak.

Viva Villa

If you seek a field guide to identifying comma uses and misuses, I commend any of the authorities above.

Legal Writing Notebook: Toward a Unified Field Theory of Commas, Part I

The company's drivers filed a lawsuit in 2014 and sought $10 million in a dispute about overtime payment which erupted due to the missing comma, causing information to mislead.

Omitting comma cost this US dairy company Dh18.3m

Butterfly Conservation President Sir David Attenborough said: "The Comma is one of our most exquisite butterflies and hearteningly is a butterfly success story."

End of death sentence for the Comma

Jorgenson set about ordering the parts needed to build Comma's device, the Neo, the same day Hotz dumped the plans online.

How a college kid made his Honda Civic self-driving for $700: who needs a Tesla when you can build your own automated copilot using free hardware designs and software available online?

Reportedly, the Italian Comma 6a market is the single largest gaming machine market in Europe with over 350,000 regulated machines currently installed.

NetEnt announces contract with Gauselmann for game distribution in Italian retail market