sentence
a string of words satisfying the grammatical rules of a language
How often you will meet it
Rank 1,936 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 9,300 times across 155,370 chapters — 0.004% of every word in the library.
What it means
noun
- a string of words satisfying the grammatical rules of a language he always spoke in grammatical sentences
- (criminal law) a final judgment of guilty in a criminal case and the punishment that is imposed also: conviction, judgment of conviction, condemnation the conviction came as no surprise
- the period of time a prisoner is imprisoned also: prison term, time he served a prison term of 15 monthshis sentence was 5 to 10 years
verb
- pronounce a sentence on (somebody) in a court of law also: condemn, doom He was condemned to ten years in prison
sentence in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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It griev'd me much to hear the sentence.
The White Devil · John Webster · Chapter 1
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A sentence of it came to the boy's struggling mind.
The Courage of the Commonplace · Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews · Chapter 1
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Mlle. Gilberte’s conjectures had run far ahead of that sentence.
Other People's Money · Emile Gaboriau · Chapter 1
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Cambyses listened to this sentence, borrowed from the golden maxims of Pythagoras, and smiled bitterly at the word "patience."
An Egyptian Princess — Volume 07 · Georg Ebers · Chapter 1
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He proposed that one gentleman should give him one word of a foreign sentence, and tell him its place in the sentence.
Following the Equator — Part 1 · Mark Twain · Chapter 1