question mark

noun

1

a

: something unknown, unknowable, or uncertain

b

: someone (such as an athlete) whose condition, talent, or potential for success is in doubt

2

: a mark ? used in writing and printing at the conclusion of a sentence to indicate a direct question

Examples of question mark in a Sentence

The team's pitching is a big question mark this season.

Recent Examples on the Web

But their biggest question mark all offseason was at quarterback, and Fields delivered one of the most exciting debuts in recent memory. —Zack Rosenblatt, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025

But all of them come with serious question marks. —Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025

The Jets' new starting quarterback is still a relatively young player and is a dynamic runner with the football, but his decision-making and accuracy have always been a question mark. —Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 2025

Sporting Kansas City’s acquisition of Dejan Joveljic in the 2025 offseason came with a few question marks. —Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 6 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1862, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for question mark

• disembark
• matriarch
• meadowlark
• patriarch
• watermark
• arc
• ark
• bark
• barque
• dark
• hark
• lark

Kids Definition

question mark

noun

: a punctuation mark ? used chiefly at the end of a sentence to indicate a direct question