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comma

noun

Simple meaning

The punctuation mark ⟨,⟩ used to indicate a set of parts of a sentence or between elements of a list.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kahmuh

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈkɑmə

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. typography

    The punctuation mark ⟨,⟩ used to indicate a set of parts of a sentence or between elements of a list.

  2. typography

    A punctuation mark (,) used to indicate the separation of elements within the grammatical structure of a sentence

  3. genetics

    A delimiting marker between items in a genetic sequence.

  4. figurative

    A brief interval.

  5. Anglewing butterfly with a comma-shaped mark on the underside of each hind wing

  6. entomology

    Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Polygonia, having a comma-shaped white mark on the underwings, especially Polygonia c-album and Polygonia c-aureum of North Africa, Europe, and Asia.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The punctuation mark ⟨,⟩ used to indicate a set of parts of a sentence or between elements of a list.

Used this way, comma is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use comma

  • “Remember to use a comma after each item in a list.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

comma splicecomma bacillusvibrio commainverted commacomma operatorlast commasingle commafirst comma

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • comma butterflynounCompound term

    Anglewing butterfly with a comma-shaped mark on the underside of each hind wing.

  • comma bacillusnounCompound term

    Comma-shaped bacteria that cause Asiatic cholera.

  • inverted commanounCompound term

    A punctuation mark used to attribute the enclosed text to someone else.

  • polygonia commanounCompound term

    Anglewing butterfly with a comma-shaped mark on the underside of each hind wing.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.