# sentence

/ˈsɛntəns/ (US) · /sˈɛntəns/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/sentence
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. grammar

noun · CEFR A1

a group of words that starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark.

For teachers: a grammatical unit consisting of one or more words that are grammatically linked and express a complete thought.

- Please write a short sentence about your favorite hobby.
- The student struggled to identify the main verb in the complex sentence, despite having a strong grasp of basic syntax.

### 2. legal punishment

noun · CEFR B2

the official punishment given by a judge to someone who has committed a crime.

For teachers: the formal pronouncement of punishment by a court of law upon a defendant who has been found guilty.

- The judge gave him a three-year sentence for the robbery.
- The defendant received a suspended sentence on the condition that he perform two hundred hours of community service over the next year.

### 4. a wise saying

noun · CEFR C2 · Literary · Archaic

a short, wise statement or a famous saying.

For teachers: a concise statement of a principle or a maxim. This sense is largely restricted to literary or historical contexts.

- The old book was full of wise sentences about how to live a good life.
- The philosopher's prose was dense with pithy sentences that required deep reflection to fully comprehend.

## Examples

- Please write a short sentence about your family.
- The teacher asked the students to identify the subject and the verb in every sentence of the paragraph.
- While the defendant hoped for leniency, the judge handed down a maximum sentence to reflect the severity of the crime and deter future offenders.

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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.