paragraph

noun par·a·graph \ ˈper-ə-ˌgraf , ˈpa-rə- \

|Updated on: 12 Jul 2018

Definition of paragraph

1 a : 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

—

paragraphic

play \ˌper-ə-ˈgra-fik, ˌpa-rə-\ adjective

See paragraph defined for English-language learners

See paragraph defined for kids

Examples of paragraph in a Sentence

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 of paragraph from the Web

The last one, in paragraph (c), is particularly relevant here.

— gregory korte, USA TODAY, "Anatomy of an executive order: What President Trump’s order on family separation does," 21 June 2018
There were fourteen g-words in the paragraph and all of them used loop-tails.

— jeffrey kluger, Time, "Almost Nobody Can Write This Letter of the Alphabet Correctly," 4 Apr. 2018
The key fact of the article — that the FBI had opened a broad investigation into possible links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign — was published in the 10th paragraph.

— author: matt apuzzo, adam goldman, nicholas fandos, Anchorage Daily News, "A secret mission, a code name and anxiety: Inside the early days of the FBI’s Trump investigation," 2 Feb. 2018
Similar to the above paragraph, this provision would allow Homeland Security to look for other federal facilities to detain immigrant families.

— gregory korte, USA TODAY, "Anatomy of an executive order: What President Trump’s order on family separation does," 21 June 2018
If the above paragraph makes zero sense, then stick with the straight money line — or the over/under which is six.

— ed barkowitz, Philly.com, "Oddsmakers waste no time making Flyers underdogs against Golden Knights," 20 June 2018
Nor is there any way of knowing today which paragraph is right and who is wronged.

— dave hyde, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Hyde: A Panthers trade, an added scorer — and a lurid story to sort out | Commentary," 19 June 2018
Before releasing the statement, Microsoft temporarily deleted four paragraphs about its work with ICE from the January blog post.

— nitasha tiku, WIRED, "Microsoft's Ethical Reckoning Is Here," 18 June 2018
The first paragraph of Baylson’s ruling moves quickly from Shakespeare to Homer, referring to Scylla and Charybdis, two monsters encountered by Odysseus in Book XII of the Odyssey.

— walt hunter, The Atlantic, "When Hamlet Starts Showing Up in Federal Court," 13 June 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of paragraph

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year