Word.ws English Dictionary

semiquote

semiquote noun: a single quotation mark, ('). This is often used for a quote within a quote, as in "Tom said 'What?'".

Noun

semiquote (plural semiquotes)

  1. A single quotation mark, ('). This is often used for a quote within a quote, as in "Tom said 'What?'"
  2. A punctuation mark to indicate that the text is a semi-quote, i.e. a close paraphrase that uses some of the author's original words.
  3. (informal) A partly paraphrased quotation.
    • "A fanatic is someone who will not change his mind or the subject of discussion" is a semiquote of Winston Churchill.

Verb

semiquote (third-person singular simple present semiquotes, present participle semiquoting, simple past and past participle semiquoted)

  1. To make a close paraphrase of a quotation, using some of its words.

Forms of semiquote

Noun
pluralsemiquotes
alternative formsemi-quote
Verb
third-person singular presentsemiquotes
present participlesemiquoting
past participlesemiquoted
pastsemiquoted

Origin of semiquote

From semi- + quote.

Questions about semiquote

What does semiquote mean?
Semiquote means a single quotation mark, ('). This is often used for a quote within a quote, as in "Tom said 'What?'".
What part of speech is semiquote?
Semiquote can be a noun or a verb.
What is the plural of semiquote?
The plural of semiquote is semiquotes.

Words near semiquote in the dictionary

  1. semiquinone
  2. semiquinones
  3. semiquinquefid
  4. semiquintile
  5. semiquintiles
  6. semiquote
  7. semiquoted
  8. semiquotes
  9. semiquoting
  10. semiracist
  11. semiradial

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: semiquote (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “semiquote.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/semiquote. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.