question mark

noun

|Updated on: 6 Aug 2018

Examples: question mark in a Sentence

Definition of question mark

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

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See question mark defined for kids

Examples of question mark in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of question mark from the Web

The question mark about Martinez’s management has always been his capacity to organize a defense.

— jonathan wilson, SI.com, "Trophy Window Suddenly Shrinks for Belgium's Golden Generation," 10 July 2018
The question marks have become exclamation points, fueling some to say this is Dantonio’s most talented roster in his decade-plus in East Lansing.

— jamie samuelsen, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan football or Michigan State, who is better? It's an easy call," 10 July 2018
Another question mark is, believe it or not, in the passing game.

— jake lourim, The Courier-Journal, "How Louisville football can (and can’t) beat Georgia Tech," 7 July 2018
While Ostrander's participation is the big question mark heading into the race, the heat could be the X factor.

— beth bragg, Anchorage Daily News, "Mount Marathon women’s race: There’s Allie, and there’s everyone else," 1 July 2018
Yet another big question mark is the looming trade war with China, and the future impact of new memory producing companies being established there.

— dan gallagher, WSJ, "Memory Unlikely to Fade Fast for Chips," 27 June 2018
The big question mark may be President Donald Trump, whose shaky appeal with affluent suburban Republicans brought many of those districts into play in the first place.

— alexei koseff, sacbee, "Rent control, data privacy and gas taxes for roads: Get ready for the next election," 7 June 2018
The question mark was her desire, something that’s gutted her to Grand Slam titles, Olympic gold medals and No. 1 rankings.

— chris chase, For The Win, "Serena Williams has already won the French Open," 31 May 2018
So, the big question mark is graphics—how does this strange Frankenstein chip perform?

— samuel axon, Ars Technica, "Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 review: Meet the child of Intel and AMD’s unholy union," 23 May 2018

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

First Known Use of question mark

1862

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

QUESTION MARK Defined for English Language Learners

question mark

noun

Definition of question mark for English Language Learners

: the punctuation mark ? that is used after a direct question or to indicate that something (such as a birth date) is uncertain
: someone or something that causes feelings of doubt or uncertainty