paragraph

noun

par·a·graph | \ ˈper-ə-ˌgraf

, ˈpa-rə-\

Definition of paragraph

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a subdivision of a written composition that consists of one or more sentences, deals with one point or gives the words of one speaker, and begins on a new usually indented line The introductory paragraphs were written by the editor.

b : a short composition or note that is complete in one paragraph

2 : a character (such as ¶) used to indicate the beginning of a paragraph and as a reference mark

paragraph

verb

paragraphed; paragraphing; paragraphs

Definition of paragraph (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to write paragraphs about

2 : to divide into paragraphs

intransitive verb

: to write paragraphs

Other Words from paragraph More Example Sentences Learn More about paragraph

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Examples of paragraph in a Sentence

Noun

In the second paragraph from the bottom, you've misspelled “their” as “thier.” Please refer to section 2, paragraph 4 for the appropriate information. The two introductory paragraphs were written by the editor.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court issued a one-paragraph order to lift two nationwide injunctions by a federal judge in California that had prohibited the administration from implementing the ban. — Camilo Montoya-galvez, CBS News, "Ilhan Omar: Supreme Court made "morally and legally wrong" decision on Trump's asylum ban," 15 Sep. 2019 The JavaScript, presented below this paragraph, was designed to, among other things, present a green icon that corresponded to safe links returned in search results. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, "Kaspersky AV injected unique ID that allowed sites to track users, even in incognito mode," 16 Aug. 2019 Guatemala’s government put out a six-paragraph, Spanish-language statement Friday on Twitter. — Colleen Long, The Denver Post, "U.S., Guatemala sign agreement to restrict asylum cases," 26 July 2019 Lee’s two-paragraph memo, written for her files, was dated May 7, the day that the ethics committee concluded its eight-week investigation of Evans. — Robert Mccartney, baltimoresun.com, "In reversal, D.C. Metro chair Jack Evans acknowledges he violated board's ethics code," 20 June 2019 In its final paragraph, the four-page study extrapolated experimental findings from a small group of 21 undecided voters to the electorate as a whole using mathematical models Epstein reported in an earlier paper. — Washington Post, "Trump attacks on Google recycle baseless claims," 20 Aug. 2019 The businessman then consulted with unspecified others and suggested adding a paragraph praising the powerful princes of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the text messages show. — Isaac Arnsdorf, ProPublica, "Trump Adviser Tom Barrack Pushed for Saudi Nuclear Deal — and Planned to Profit From It," 30 July 2019 Hine, who merits his own paragraph, is that rare figure in cultural history: an accomplished artist who helped accomplish social change. — Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, "At the Gardner: When some plans are bigger than others," 19 June 2019 But the paragraph before was a rascally story about when Penny was studying at MIT and how he got caught by campus police helping his buddy's girlfriend climb back into her dorm room window after curfew. — Bart Weiss, Dallas News, "Dallas critic remembers D.A. Pennebaker, creator of the Dylan myth, modern documentary and music video," 5 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'paragraph.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for paragraph

Noun and Verb

Middle English paragraf marginal sign marking a paragraph, from Anglo-French parogref, from Medieval Latin paragraphus, from Greek paragraphos line used to mark change of persons in a dialogue, from paragraphein to write alongside, from para- + graphein to write — more at carve