See em dash in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
{
"etymology_text": "Named for its width, which is equal to the width of the letter m or M, or approximately twice the width of an en dash.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "em dashes",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
},
{
"form": "emdash",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "em-dash",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "m dash",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "em dash (plural em dashes)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Entries with translation boxes",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with entries",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Russian terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Czech translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with French translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with German translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Greek translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Icelandic translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Irish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Italian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Macedonian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Persian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Polish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Russian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Tagalog translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Punctuation marks",
"orig": "en:Punctuation marks",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Typography",
"orig": "en:Typography",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
82,
89
]
],
"ref": "2025 December 3, Sam Kriss, “Why Does A.I. Write Like … That?”, in The New York Times Magazine, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 03 Dec 2025:",
"text": "So now, no matter where it’s coming from or why, millions of people recognize the em dash as a sign of zero-effort, low-quality algorithmic slop.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The symbol (—) (used to demarcate a parenthetical thought or to indicate a break, or for emphasis); a one-em or long dash."
],
"id": "en-em_dash-en-noun-FgdRQkXg",
"links": [
[
"typography",
"typography"
],
[
"—",
"—#Translingual"
],
[
"demarcate",
"demarcate#English"
],
[
"parenthetical",
"parenthetical#English"
],
[
"break",
"break#English"
],
[
"emphasis",
"emphasis#English"
],
[
"em",
"em"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(typography) The symbol (—) (used to demarcate a parenthetical thought or to indicate a break, or for emphasis); a one-em or long dash."
],
"related": [
{
"word": "en dash"
},
{
"word": "hyphen"
},
{
"word": "rule"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "em rule"
},
{
"word": "m-rule"
},
{
"word": "mutton dash"
}
],
"topics": [
"media",
"publishing",
"typography"
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"lang_code": "cs",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "dlouhá pomlčka"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"lang_code": "nl",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "heel kastlijntje"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"lang_code": "fi",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"word": "m-viiva"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"lang_code": "fi",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"word": "pitkä ajatusviiva"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"lang_code": "fr",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "tiret cadratin"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"lang_code": "de",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Geviertstrich"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"lang_code": "el",
"roman": "diplí pávla",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "διπλή παύλα"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"lang_code": "hu",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"word": "kvirtmínusz"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"lang_code": "is",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "þankastrik"
},
{
"code": "ga",
"lang": "Irish",
"lang_code": "ga",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "eim-dais"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"lang_code": "it",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "lineetta emme"
},
{
"code": "mk",
"lang": "Macedonian",
"lang_code": "mk",
"roman": "dolga crta",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "долга црта"
},
{
"code": "fa",
"lang": "Persian",
"lang_code": "fa",
"roman": "tamâm-xat",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"word": "تمامخط"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"lang_code": "pl",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "pauza"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"lang_code": "pt",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "travessão"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"roman": "tirɛ́",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "тире́"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"lang_code": "es",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "raya"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"lang_code": "sv",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "långt tankstreck"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"lang_code": "sv",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "helfyrkantsminus"
},
{
"code": "tl",
"lang": "Tagalog",
"lang_code": "tl",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"word": "gatlang em"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-us-em dash.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d9/En-us-em_dash.ogg/En-us-em_dash.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/En-us-em_dash.ogg"
}
],
"word": "em dash"
}
{
"etymology_text": "Named for its width, which is equal to the width of the letter m or M, or approximately twice the width of an en dash.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "em dashes",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
},
{
"form": "emdash",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "em-dash",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "m dash",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "em dash (plural em dashes)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"related": [
{
"word": "en dash"
},
{
"word": "hyphen"
},
{
"word": "rule"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English nouns",
"English terms with quotations",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Russian terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
"Terms with Czech translations",
"Terms with Dutch translations",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Greek translations",
"Terms with Hungarian translations",
"Terms with Icelandic translations",
"Terms with Irish translations",
"Terms with Italian translations",
"Terms with Macedonian translations",
"Terms with Persian translations",
"Terms with Polish translations",
"Terms with Portuguese translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations",
"Terms with Swedish translations",
"Terms with Tagalog translations",
"en:Punctuation marks",
"en:Typography"
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
82,
89
]
],
"ref": "2025 December 3, Sam Kriss, “Why Does A.I. Write Like … That?”, in The New York Times Magazine, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 03 Dec 2025:",
"text": "So now, no matter where it’s coming from or why, millions of people recognize the em dash as a sign of zero-effort, low-quality algorithmic slop.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The symbol (—) (used to demarcate a parenthetical thought or to indicate a break, or for emphasis); a one-em or long dash."
],
"links": [
[
"typography",
"typography"
],
[
"—",
"—#Translingual"
],
[
"demarcate",
"demarcate#English"
],
[
"parenthetical",
"parenthetical#English"
],
[
"break",
"break#English"
],
[
"emphasis",
"emphasis#English"
],
[
"em",
"em"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(typography) The symbol (—) (used to demarcate a parenthetical thought or to indicate a break, or for emphasis); a one-em or long dash."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "em rule"
},
{
"word": "m-rule"
},
{
"word": "mutton dash"
}
],
"topics": [
"media",
"publishing",
"typography"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-us-em dash.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d9/En-us-em_dash.ogg/En-us-em_dash.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/En-us-em_dash.ogg"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"lang_code": "cs",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "dlouhá pomlčka"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"lang_code": "nl",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "heel kastlijntje"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"lang_code": "fi",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"word": "m-viiva"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"lang_code": "fi",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"word": "pitkä ajatusviiva"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"lang_code": "fr",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "tiret cadratin"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"lang_code": "de",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Geviertstrich"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"lang_code": "el",
"roman": "diplí pávla",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "διπλή παύλα"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"lang_code": "hu",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"word": "kvirtmínusz"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"lang_code": "is",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "þankastrik"
},
{
"code": "ga",
"lang": "Irish",
"lang_code": "ga",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "eim-dais"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"lang_code": "it",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "lineetta emme"
},
{
"code": "mk",
"lang": "Macedonian",
"lang_code": "mk",
"roman": "dolga crta",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "долга црта"
},
{
"code": "fa",
"lang": "Persian",
"lang_code": "fa",
"roman": "tamâm-xat",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"word": "تمامخط"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"lang_code": "pl",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "pauza"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"lang_code": "pt",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "travessão"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"roman": "tirɛ́",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "тире́"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"lang_code": "es",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "raya"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"lang_code": "sv",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "långt tankstreck"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"lang_code": "sv",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "helfyrkantsminus"
},
{
"code": "tl",
"lang": "Tagalog",
"lang_code": "tl",
"sense": "typographical symbol '—'",
"word": "gatlang em"
}
],
"word": "em dash"
}
Download raw JSONL data for em dash meaning in English (5.6kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-01-25 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-01-01 using wiktextract (f492ef9 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.