# apostrophe

/əˈpɑstɹəˌfi/ (US) · /ɐpˈɒstɹəfi/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/apostrophe
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. punctuation mark

noun · CEFR B1

the mark (') used to show where letters are left out in a word, or to show that something belongs to a person.

For teachers: the typographic character used to indicate the omission of one or more letters or to mark the possessive case.

- You need an apostrophe in the word 'don't' to show the missing 'o'.
- The editor noted that the author frequently misplaced the apostrophe in plural possessive nouns, leading to significant clarity issues throughout the manuscript.

### 2. rhetorical address

noun · CEFR C2 · Formal · Technical

a speech or poem where the speaker talks to someone who is dead, absent, or not human.

For teachers: a rhetorical figure in which the speaker addresses a dead or absent person, an abstraction, or an inanimate object.

- The poet uses apostrophe when he speaks directly to the wind in the first stanza.
- Milton’s use of apostrophe in his sonnets often serves to elevate the emotional register by addressing personified virtues as if they were present deities.

### 3. plant cell structure

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a specific way that green parts inside a plant cell are arranged.

For teachers: an arrangement of chloroplasts along the side walls of plant cells, perpendicular to the surface, typically occurring under high light intensity.

- The scientist observed the apostrophe of the chlorophyll grains under the microscope.
- Under intense solar radiation, the chloroplasts moved into a position of apostrophe to protect the cell from photo-oxidative damage.

## Examples

- The poet used an apostrophe to address the wind directly, treating it as a living character in the poem.
- While the apostrophe is primarily a grammatical marker, its use in botanical nomenclature to describe the morphology of plant structures is a specialized application of the term.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.