SEMICOLON | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of semicolon in English semicolonnoun [ C ] uk /ˌsem.iˈkəʊ.lɒn/ us /ˈsem.iˌkoʊ.lən/ Add to word list Add to word list B2 the symbol ; used in writing between two parts of a sentence, usually when each of the two parts could form grammatical sentences on their own. A semicolon can also separate the things in a list. Punctuation

• abbreviate
• abbreviated
• accent
• acute
• ampersand
• asterism
• at sign
• bracket
• caron
• colon
• curly bracket
• hyphen
• parenthesis
• punctuate
• quote mark
• repunctuation
• round bracket
• scare quotes
• slash
• small capitals

See more results »

Grammar

PunctuationThe most common punctuation marks in English are: capital letters and full stops, question marks, commas, colons and semi-colons, exclamation marks and quotation marks. … Punctuation: colons (:) and semi-colons (;)We use colons to introduce lists: … (Definition of semicolon from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

semicolon | American Dictionary

semicolonnoun [ C ] us /ˈsem·ɪˌkoʊ·lən/ Add to word list Add to word list grammar a mark (;) used in writing for separating large or important independent parts of a sentence or items in a list (Definition of semicolon from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of semicolon

semicolon For example, we tend to show the hierarchical structure of programs by indentation rather than brackets and semicolons. From the Cambridge English Corpus The effect of layout on its meaning can be completely described by adding braces and semicolons in places determined by the layout. From the Cambridge English Corpus Permutable elements are often separated by symbols that do not carry meaning - typically commas or semicolons. From the Cambridge English Corpus This is implemented in the syntax by having different separators in the sequents, usually comma and semicolon. From the Cambridge English Corpus Besides, is usually written as not, as comma, and as semicolon. From the Cambridge English Corpus A semicolon (;) starts a comment for the remainder of the current line. From the Cambridge English Corpus From now on, commas and semicolons, respectively, denote the parallel and serial compositions of orders. From the Cambridge English Corpus The simple zigzags are put in the beginning, in increasing order of length, without their signature (0, 0), and separated by a semicolon from others. From the Cambridge English Corpus Programs are sequences of commands separated by semicolons. From the Cambridge English Corpus Each definition is composed of an identifier representing the name of the field to be defined, the symbol :=, the actual definition and a semicolon. From the Cambridge English Corpus Entries in parentheses refer to respective seasons; first entry before semicolon = wet season, second entry after semicolon = dry season. From the Cambridge English Corpus Every judgement ends with a semicolon (;), which we usually omit in typeset text, where we have access to layout. From the Cambridge English Corpus In the typing judgement above, the holes and variables are separated in the antecedent with a semicolon but this is just for clarity. From the Cambridge English Corpus The other traditional definition, that of the semicolon (;) as an infix function, unnecessarily involves the conservative approximation of application. From the Cambridge English Corpus Second, a punctuation mark-in particular a comma, a colon, or a semicolon-or a conjunction must lie between two such daughters that appear consecutively. From the Cambridge English Corpus These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. What is the pronunciation of semicolon?

Translations of semicolon

in Chinese (Traditional) 分號… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 分号… See more in Spanish punto y coma, punto y coma [masculine, singular]… See more in Portuguese ponto-e-vírgula, ponto e vírgula [masculine]… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian अर्धविराम, हे चिन्ह जे वाक्याच्या दोन भागामध्ये लिहिले जाते. दोन्ही भागांना आपआपला अर्थ असतो. तसेच एखाद्या यादीमध्ये अर्धविराम गोष्टींना वेगळे करतो.… See more セミコロン (, の記号。文章を分ける時に使う）, セミコロン… See more noktalı virgül (, ), noktalı virgül… See more point-virgule [masculine], point-virgule… See more punt i coma… See more puntkomma… See more ", " குறி, ஒரு வாக்கியத்தின் இரண்டு பகுதிகளுக்கு இடையில் எழுதும்போது பயன்படுத்தப்படுகிறது… See more सेमीकोलन, एक चिह्न, वाक्य के दो व्याकरणिक रूप से पूर्ण भागों के बीच या एक सूची में चीज़ों को अलग करने हेतु प्रयुक्त… See more સેમિકોલન, અર્ધવિરામ, a ચિહ્ન… See more semikolon… See more semikolon… See more koma bertitik… See more der Strichpunkt… See more semikolon [neuter], semikolon… See more نیم وقفہ کی علامت, ؛ (کسی عبارت میں دو جملوں کے درمیان کا وقفہ)… See more крапка з комою… See more సెమికోలన్ - రాసేటప్పుడు వాక్యం రెండు భాగాల మధ్య ఉపయోగించే గుర్తు, సాధారణంగా రెండు భాగాలూ తమంతట తామే వ్యాకరణాన్ని అనుసరించే (విడి) వాక్యాలుగా రూపొందినప్పుడు. సెమికోలన్ పట్టికలోని వస్తువులను కూడా వేరు చేయగలదు.… See more সেমিকোলন চিহ্ন, লেখায় বাক্যের দুটি অংশের মধ্যে ব্যবহৃত হয়ে থাকে, সাধারণত ওই দুই অংশের প্রতিটি যখন ব্যাকরণসিদ্ধ। সেমিকোলোন ব্যবহার করে কোনো তালিকার মধ্যে বস্তুগুলি আলাদা আলাদা করা যায়।… See more středník… See more titik koma… See more เครื่องหมายวรรคตอน, อัฒภาค… See more dấu chấm phẩy… See more średnik… See more 세미콜론… See more punto e virgola… See more Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool

Browse

semicircle semicircular semicircular canal semiclassical BETA semicolon semiconducting semiconductor semifinal semifreddo {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

Word of the Day

(don't) beat yourself up

to hurt someone badly by hitting or kicking them repeatedly

About this

Blog

I need to ask you a favour: signalling what we are going to say

January 21, 2026 Read More

New Words

analogue bag January 19, 2026 More new words has been added to list To top AI Assistant Contents EnglishAmericanExamplesTranslations AI Assistant {{#displayLoginPopup}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content: Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans Sign up now or Log in Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Create word lists and quizzes for free Sign up now or Log in {{/displayLoginPopup}} {{#displayClassicSurvey}} {{/displayClassicSurvey}}

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
• My profile
• +Plus help
• Log out

AI Assistant Dictionary Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Danish Danish–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Translate Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games {{userName}}

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
• My profile
• +Plus help
• Log out

Log in / Sign up English (UK) Change English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Follow us Choose a dictionary

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• Translation Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries
  • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
  • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
  • English–Danish Danish–English
  • English–Dutch Dutch–English
  • English–French French–English
  • English–German German–English
  • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
  • English–Italian Italian–English
  • English–Japanese Japanese–English
  • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
  • English–Polish Polish–English
  • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
  • English–Spanish Spanish–English
  • English–Swedish Swedish–English
  Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists

Choose your language English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Contents

• English   Noun
• American   Noun
• Examples

• Translations
• Grammar
• All translations

My word lists

To add semicolon to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in My word lists

Add semicolon to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{name}} More Go to your word lists {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} Tell us about this example sentence: The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}}