Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 3rd Edition

abbreviate verb [T usually passive ]

to make a word or phrase shorter by using only the first letters of each word
'Daniel' is often abbreviated to 'Dan'.
'Chief Executive Officer' is abbreviated as 'CEO'.
abbreviated adjective
'Di' is the abbreviated form of 'Diane'.
accent noun [C ] MARK
2. a mark written or printed over a letter to show you how to pronounce it
a grave accent
There's an acute accent on the 'e' of 'café'.
aˌcute (ˈaccent) noun [C ]
a sign which is written above a letter in some languages, showing you how to pronounce the letter
There's an acute accent on the e in 'blé' which is the French word for corn.
ampersand noun [C ]
the sign (&) used for 'and'
apostrophe noun [C ]
1. the punctuation mark ' that shows when a letter or a number has been left out, or is used before or
after s to show possession
I'm (= I am)
they're (= they are)
'65 (= 1965)
Helen's laugh
Charles' cooking
a baby's hand
babies' hands
apostrophe noun [C ]
2. used before s to show the plural of a number or a letter
the 1920's
I always forget there are four s's in possession.
asterisk noun [C ]
the symbol * which is used to refer readers to a note at the bottom of a page of text, or to show that a
letter is missing from a word
Sometimes taboo words are written with asterisks to avoid causing offence.
backslash noun [C ]
the symbol \ that is used for separating words or numbers in the names of computer files
ˌblock ˈcapitals plural noun (ALSO block letters)
a style of writing in which each letter of a word is written separately and clearly using the capital letters of
the alphabet
Please print your name and address in block capitals.
bracket noun SYMBOL
1. [C usually plural] either of two symbols put around a word, phrase or sentence in a piece of writing to
show that what is between them should be considered as separate from the main part
Biographical information is included in brackets.
UK You should include the date of publication in round brackets (also esp. US and ANZ parentheses)
after the title.
Grammar patterns in this dictionary are shown in UK square brackets/ US brackets. For example, a
countable noun is marked [C].
bracket verb [T ] USE SYMBOL
1. to put brackets around words, phrases, numbers, etc.
I've bracketed the bits of text that could be omitted.
c preposition (ALSO ca)
WRITTEN ABBREVIATION FOR circa

capital adjective LETTER

1. (of a letter of the alphabet) in the form and larger size that is used at the beginning of sentences and
names
Do you write 'calvinist' with a capital 'C'?

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 Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 3rd Edition

capitalization , UK USUALLY capitalisation noun LETTER

2. [U] the use of capital letters
capitalize , UK USUALLY capitalise verb LETTER
1. [T] to write a letter of the alphabet as a capital, or to write the first letter of a word as a capital
The names of political parties are always capitalized, e.g. the Green Party.
cedilla noun [C ]
(used when writing some languages) a mark made under a letter, especially c, which is then written as ç
to show that the letter has a special sound
circumflex noun [C ]
a sign (^) over a letter, especially a vowel, which shows that it has a different pronunciation from the
letter without a sign over it
colon noun [C ] SIGN
2. the sign : used in writing, especially to introduce a list of things or a sentence or phrase taken from
somewhere else
comma noun [C ]
the (,) punctuation mark that is used in writing to separate parts of a sentence showing a slight pause,
or to separate the single things in a list
cross noun [C ] MARK
1. a written mark (x), usually used to show where something is, or that something has not been written
correctly
dash noun PUNCTUATION
3. [C] the - punctuation mark that can be used to separate parts of a sentence
ditto noun [C usually singular ] (ALSO ditto mark)
a symbol " which means 'the same' and is used in a list to avoid writing again the word which is written
immediately above it
ellipsis noun (plural ellipses) SPECIALIZED PRINTED MARK
2. [C] three dots in a printed text, [...], which show where one or more words have been intentionally left
out
exclaˈmation ˌmark noun [C ] (US exclamation point)
the ! punctuation mark that is written immediately after an exclamation
ˌfull ˈstop noun [C ] UK (US period)
the punctuation mark (.) that is put at the end of a sentence, or at the end of a word that has been
shortened
grave (accent) noun [C ]
a symbol used over a letter in some languages, for example the letter 'è' in French, to show that it is
pronounced in a particular way
hyphen noun [C ]
the - punctuation mark that joins two words together, or shows that a word has been divided into two
parts at the end of one line and the beginning of the next
There should be a hyphen in 'short-sighted'.
hyphenate verb [T ]
to use a hyphen to join two words or two parts of a word
hyphenation noun [U ]
the rules of hyphenation
hyphenated adjective
written with a hyphen
hyphenated compounds
inˌverted ˈcommas plural noun UK
the " " punctuation marks that are put around a word or phrase to show that someone else has written
or said it
ˌlower ˈcase noun [U ]
letters of the alphabet which are not written as capital letters, for example a, b, c
oblique noun [C ] (ALSO oˌblique ˈstroke)
UK FOR a slash in punctuation

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 Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 3rd Edition

Fractions can be written with oblique strokes, for example 2/3.

parentheses plural noun MAINLY US (UK USUALLY (round) brackets)
the () punctuation marks that are put around a word, phrase or sentence in a piece of writing to show that
what is inside them should be considered as separate from the main part
The students' first names are shown in parentheses.
period noun [C ] MARK
5. MAINLY US FOR full stop
punctuate verb [T ]
2. to add punctuation marks to written words so that people can see when a sentence starts and finishes,
or that something is a question, etc.
punctuation noun [U ]
(the use of) special marks that you add to writing to separate phrases and sentences, to show that
something is a question, etc
His letter was completely without punctuation.
punctuˈation ˌmark noun [C ]
a symbol used in punctuation
Full stops/Periods, commas, semicolons, question marks and brackets are all different types of
punctuation mark.
ˈquestion ˌmark noun [C ]
the ? punctuation mark that is put at the end of a phrase or sentence to show that it is a question
quoˈtation ˌmarks plural noun (UK ALSO inverted commas , INFORMAL quotes)
the " " punctuation marks that are put around a word or phrase to show that someone else has written or
said it
ˈround ˌbrackets plural noun
UK FOR parentheses
semicolon noun [C ]
the ; punctuation mark that is used in formal writing between two parts of a sentence, usually when
each of the two parts could form grammatical sentences on their own. A semicolon can also separate
the things in a list.
slash noun PUNCTUATION
1. [C] (UK ALSO oblique (stroke)) the / punctuation mark that can be used to separate letters, numbers or
words
You often write a slash between alternatives, for example, 'and/or'.
ˌsquare ˈbrackets plural noun
the [ ] brackets that are shaped like two halves of a square
star noun SYMBOL
5. [C] an asterisk (= a symbol *)
stop noun [C ]
3. UK SHORT FORM OF full stop
ˈstress ˌmark noun [C ]
a short vertical line which, when the pronunciation of a word is being shown, is printed before the syllable
that receives the most stress or the second most stress in the word
Stress marks above the line indicate primary stress, while those below the line show secondary
stress.
stroke noun MARK
3. [C] UK used in spoken English to mean an oblique or slash in punctuation
Please complete form D7/8 (= 'D seven stroke eight').
tilde noun [C ]
(used when writing some languages) a ~ mark made above a letter, especially n, to show that the letter
has a special sound
umlaut noun [C ]
a mark put over a vowel in some languages, such as German, to show that the pronunciation of the vowel
is changed
The German word 'Gebäude', which means 'building', has an umlaut over the 'a'.

© Cambridge University Press 2008

 Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 3rd Edition

ˌupper ˈcase noun [U ] SPECIALIZED

If letters are in upper case, they are written as capitals
upper-case letters
ˌblock ˈcapitals plural noun (ALSO block letters)
a style of writing in which each letter of a word is written separately and clearly using the capital letters of
the alphabet
Please print your name and address in block capitals.
c preposition (ALSO ca)
WRITTEN ABBREVIATION FOR circa

capitalization , UK USUALLY capitalisation noun LETTER

2. [U] the use of capital letters
capitalize , UK USUALLY capitalise verb LETTER
1. [T] to write a letter of the alphabet as a capital, or to write the first letter of a word as a capital
The names of political parties are always capitalized, e.g. the Green Party.
ditto noun [C usually singular ] (ALSO ditto mark)
a symbol " which means 'the same' and is used in a list to avoid writing again the word which is written
immediately above it
exclaˈmation ˌmark noun [C ] (US exclamation point)
the ! punctuation mark that is written immediately after an exclamation
ˌfull ˈstop noun [C ] UK (US period)
the punctuation mark (.) that is put at the end of a sentence, or at the end of a word that has been
shortened
oblique noun [C ] (ALSO oˌblique ˈstroke)
UK FOR a slash in punctuation
Fractions can be written with oblique strokes, for example 2/3.
parentheses plural noun MAINLY US (UK USUALLY (round) brackets)
the () punctuation marks that are put around a word, phrase or sentence in a piece of writing to show that
what is inside them should be considered as separate from the main part
The students' first names are shown in parentheses.
quoˈtation ˌmarks plural noun (UK ALSO inverted commas , INFORMAL quotes)
the " " punctuation marks that are put around a word or phrase to show that someone else has written or
said it
quoˈtation ˌmarks plural noun (UK ALSO inverted commas , INFORMAL quotes)
the " " punctuation marks that are put around a word or phrase to show that someone else has written or
said it
slash noun PUNCTUATION
1. [C] (UK ALSO oblique (stroke)) the / punctuation mark that can be used to separate letters, numbers or
words
You often write a slash between alternatives, for example, 'and/or'.
quotes
INFORMAL FOR quotation marks
Put the title of the article in quotes.
a question mark over sth
an expression used when doubt exists about a particular thing
A question mark hangs over the future of the company.

© Cambridge University Press 2008