double quotes

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double quotes

A student uses double quotes to highlight a title in her essay.

Definition
  1. Noun:
    • A pair of quotation marks: The punctuation marks " " used to enclose a direct quotation, a word or phrase for emphasis, or a title.
Usage
  • Primary Use: To indicate the exact words spoken or written by someone (direct speech), or to set off a specific word or phrase from the surrounding text.
    • The teacher said, "Please open your books to page ten."
    • The word "unique" is often misused.
  • Typographical Convention: In American English, double quotes are the standard for primary quotations. Single quotes () are used for a quote within a quote.
    • She explained, "He told me, 'I'll be there soon,' and then he left."
Examples
  • Noun:
    • Always place periods and commas inside the closing double quotes.
    • In the manuscript, the character's thoughts were enclosed in double quotes, which was confusing.
    • The style guide requires the use of double quotes for article titles within the text.
Advanced Usage
  • Scare Quotes: Double quotes can be used to express irony, skepticism, or to indicate that a term is being used in a non-standard or specialized way.
    • The "fresh" seafood had been frozen for months.
    • His so-called "friends" were the ones who betrayed him.
  • In Programming and Computing: In many programming languages, double quotes are used to denote string literals (a sequence of characters).
    • In Python, you can define a string with double quotes: message = "Hello, world!"
Variants and Related Words
  • Quotation Marks (n): The general term for punctuation marks used to indicate quotations. "Double quotes" are one type.
  • Single Quotes (n): Punctuation marks () often used for quotations within quotations or in British English as the primary quotation marks.
  • Inverted Commas (n): Another term for quotation marks, commonly used in British English.
Synonyms
  • Quotation marks
  • Speech marks (informal, chiefly British English)
  • Inverted commas (chiefly British English)
Related Phrases
  • In double quotes: Enclosed by double quotation marks.
    • The phrase was in double quotes to show it was a direct citation.
  • Open/close double quotes: The specific marks used at the beginning () and end () of a quoted section.
    • Remember to include both the open and close double quotes.
double quotes

A student uses double quotes to highlight a title in her essay.

Noun
  1. a pair of quotation marks