apostrophe

IPA/əˈpɒstrəfi/
KK[əpˈɑstrəfˌi]IPA/əˈpɑːstrəfi/

apostrophe — noun

  • apostrophesingular
  • apostrophesplural

1. the written sign ’ that shows where a letter or number has been dropped from a w

1.nounB2
Definition

the written sign ’ that shows where a letter or number has been dropped from a word (as in don't or '99), or that marks possession when added with s (as in Anna's bag or the boys' coats), and is occasionally added before s in plurals like p's and 7's.

Example

Mrs. Lin circled the missing apostrophe in the word dont on Kenji's homework.

apostrophe + in + word (omission use)

Put an apostrophe before the s in Maria's coat to show that the coat belongs to her.

apostrophe + before/after s (possession)

Common collocations
  • put an apostrophe before/after s
  • missing apostrophe
  • stray apostrophe
  • apostrophe of possession

Usage Note

Often appears in fixed structures: 'put/add an apostrophe before/after s' and 'leave out/forget the apostrophe'. The plural-marker use (p's, 7's) is shrinking in modern style guides; in formal writing it is now common to write 1990s and CDs without one.

Common Mistakes

The book is your's.
The book is yours.
possessive pronouns (yours, hers, theirs, its) never take an apostrophe.
The dog wagged it's tail.
The dog wagged its tail.
'it's' always means 'it is' or 'it has'; the possessive is 'its' with no apostrophe.
We sell apple's and pear's.
We sell apples and pears.
do not add an apostrophe to make a normal noun plural.

2. in poetry, plays, or speeches, the figure of speech in which the speaker turns a

2.nounC1
Definition

in poetry, plays, or speeches, the figure of speech in which the speaker turns aside to talk directly to a person who is not present, to someone who has died, or to an idea, object, or place treated as if it could listen — for example, calling out 'O Death!' or 'Dear Liberty,'.

Example

In the funeral scene, Hamlet uses apostrophe to speak straight to the skull of poor Yorick.

apostrophe + to + absent/dead addressee

The poem opens with an apostrophe: 'O wild West Wind, hear my song,' she read aloud to the class.

apostrophe addressing a thing as if alive

Common collocations
  • use an apostrophe
  • an apostrophe to the moon
  • a famous apostrophe
  • apostrophe to the dead
Synonyms
  • invocation

    calling on a god or muse for help, often at the start of an epic; narrower than apostrophe

  • direct address

    the plain prose label for the same idea; less technical than apostrophe

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this is a literary device, not a punctuation mark. Often signalled in English texts by the exclamation 'O' or 'Oh' before the addressee. Mostly limited to literary criticism and creative writing classes; rarely heard in everyday conversation.

Common Mistakes

The poet uses an apostrophe in line three to mark possession.
The poet uses an apostrophe in line three to address the moon directly.
in literary terms, an apostrophe is a turn of speech, not a typographic mark.

Word family

  • apostrophise
    verbC2
  • apostrophic
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These four marks all look like small floating strokes, but they do different work. An apostrophe (’) belongs inside a word, signalling a missing letter or possession (don't, Anna's). A quotation mark (single ' ' or double " ") sits around a stretch of text to show that someone is speaking or being quoted. A prime (′) is a technical sign used in mathematics, physics, or to mark feet (5′ 9″) — it leans, while an apostrophe curls. A 'single quote' is the everyday name many writers use for the same character that printers call an apostrophe; in plain typing on a keyboard the same key produces all three. So in 'Joe's friend said "hi" at 5′ 10″', the first stroke is an apostrophe, the next pair are quotation marks, and the last two are primes.

apostrophe ↗quotation markprime ↗single quote

Common collocations

Nouns

  • apostrophe rule
  • apostrophe error
  • apostrophe key

Phrases

  • put in an apostrophe
  • leave out the apostrophe
  • add an apostrophe
  • missing apostrophe

Prepositions

  • apostrophe before s
  • apostrophe after s
  • apostrophe in a word

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

Borrowed in the late 1500s from French apostrophe, which came from Late Latin apostrophus, in turn from Greek apostrophos, literally 'turning away'. The Greek word combined apo- ('away from') and strephein ('to turn'). Two senses developed from the same image: in writing, the mark turns the reader away from a missing letter; in rhetoric, the speaker turns away from the audience to address someone or something else.