the symbol ’ used in writing. In English, it marks the possessive form of a noun, for example ‘Bob’s car’, or a place where one or more letters have been removed from a word or phrase, for example ‘isn’t’.
Synonyms and related words
Punctuation
ampersand
apostrophe
bad break
apostrophe
noun countable linguistics
US /əˈpɑstrəfi/
Other entries for this word
greengrocer’s apostrophenoun
Word Forms
singular
apostrophe
plural
apostrophes
DEFINITIONS1
1
the symbol ’ used in writing. In English, it marks the possessive form of a noun, for example “Bob’s car,” or a place where one or more letters have been removed from a word or phrase, for example “isn’t.”