noun
- Plural of emdash; a long horizontal punctuation mark (—) used to indicate a break in thought, an interruption, or to set off a phrase or clause.
Usage: Also called an em rule or em dash.; Typographically, an emdash is one em unit wide (the width of the letter 'm' in a given font).; Common in formal and informal writing.
Examples
- The editor replaced all the hyphens with emdashes to improve readability.
- In her writing, she used emdashes to create dramatic pauses—just like this.
- Many style guides specify when emdashes should be used instead of commas or parentheses.
- The document contained several emdashes that emphasized key points.
- Emdashes are longer than hyphens and should not be confused with them.
- She typed emdashes to set off the author's name—Jane Austen—from the rest of the sentence.