Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A symbol ( — ) used in writing and printing to indicate a break in thought or sentence structure, to introduce a phrase added for emphasis, definition, or explanation, or to separate two clauses.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Alternative spelling of em dash.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From its being the width of an m in printing.]

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