quotation

noun

quo·​ta·​tion kwō-ˈtā-shən How to pronounce quotation (audio)
 also  kō-
1
: something that is quoted
especially : a passage referred to, repeated, or adduced
2
a
: the act or process of quoting
b(1)
: the naming or publishing of current bids and offers or prices of securities or commodities
(2)
: the bids, offers, or prices so named or published
especially : the highest bid and lowest offer for a particular security in a given market at a given time

Examples of quotation in a Sentence

He gathered quotations from the trial transcript to prove his point. a well-known quotation attributed to Abraham Lincoln a book of humorous quotations She relied heavily on quotation in her essays, which made them less original.
Recent Examples on the Web Each chapter of The New Leviathans begins with a quotation from Leviathan, Hobbes’s major treatise on state power, as if to provide the reader with a kernel of truth and an ominous warning about what is to come. Helena Rosenblatt, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 Architectural settings and landscapes serve as quotations from Old Master paintings by Antonello da Messina, Caspar David Friedrich and Ludovico Mazzolino. Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024 Printing short quotations from books or displaying thumbnails of photographs in search results are considered fair use, for example, as are parodies that use a story’s plot and characters. Alex Reisner, The Atlantic, 29 Feb. 2024 The first essay was only 600 words and included just two direct quotations from the book. Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2024 Putin conducts himself as a human quotation from the past, a restorer of Russia's age-old verities. Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 10 Feb. 2024 One board member suggested ending with something uplifting, like Anne Frank’s famous quotation. Clay Risen, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2024 On Thursday, Retraction Watch posted a blog item saying that her thesis lifted about 100 words without quotation or citation from an article published in Physics World in 2000. Anemona Hartocollis, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2024 Leaving out quotations when citing a source violates MIT's academic integrity handbook and is considered plagiarism. Misty Severi, Washington Examiner, 5 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'quotation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1607, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of quotation was in 1607

Dictionary Entries Near quotation

Cite this Entry

“Quotation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quotation. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

quotation

noun
quo·​ta·​tion kwō-ˈtā-shən How to pronounce quotation (audio)
1
: the act or process of quoting
2
: the prices currently bid or offered for stocks, bonds, or goods
3
: something that is quoted

More from Merriam-Webster on quotation

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