ellipsis
Ellipsis (noun) means a row of three dots (…) used in writing to show that words have been left out of a quotation, or that a thought trails away unfinished. Example: “The review quoted him as saying the film was "ambitious … but far too long".”
How to Use Ellipsis
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe three dots that show something has been left out.
Neutral; the grammatical sense belongs to linguistics and language teaching.
An ellipsis is punctuation; an ellipse is a stretched circle. They differ by one letter and share the plural ellipses.
Trace the full origin ↓Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
"Sam plays piano and Jo guitar" uses _____, since the second "plays" is understood.
Etymology
From Greek elleipsis "omission, a falling short", from elleipein "to leave out", via Latin.
Synonyms
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many dots are in an ellipsis?
Three. If the omission ends a sentence, a fourth dot may appear, but that is the full stop of the sentence rather than part of the ellipsis itself.
What is the plural of ellipsis?
Ellipses, pronounced ih-LIP-seez. Note that this is spelled the same as the plural of ellipse, the oval shape, though the two words are unrelated in meaning.
Should there be spaces around an ellipsis?
British style commonly puts a space either side, as in "ambitious … but long", while American style often closes it up or spaces each dot. Pick one convention and apply it consistently.