First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
1sentence
noun sen·tence \ˈsen-tən(t)s, -tənz\
: a group of words that expresses a statement, question, command, or wish
law : the punishment given by a court of law
Full Definition of SENTENCE
1
obsolete : opinion; especially : a conclusion given on request or reached after deliberation
2
a : judgment 2a; specifically : one formally pronounced by a court or judge in a criminal proceeding and specifying the punishment to be inflicted upon the convict b : the punishment so imposed <serve out a sentence>
4
a : a word, clause, or phrase or a group of clauses or phrases forming a syntactic unit which expresses an assertion, a question, a command, a wish, an exclamation, or the performance of an action, that in writing usually begins with a capital letter and concludes with appropriate end punctuation, and that in speaking is distinguished by characteristic patterns of stress, pitch, and pauses b : a mathematical or logical statement (as an equation or a proposition) in words or symbols
5
: period 2b
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Origin of SENTENCE
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin sententia feeling, opinion, from *sentent-, *sentens, irregular present participle of sentire to feel — more at sense
2sentence
transitive verb
law : to officially state the punishment given to (someone) by a court of law
sen·tencedsen·tenc·ing
Full Definition of SENTENCE
1
: to impose a sentence on
2
: to cause to suffer something <sentenced these most primitive cultures to extinction — E. W. Count>
First Known Use of SENTENCE
1592
SENTENCE Defined for Kids
1sentence
noun sen·tence \ˈsen-təns\
Definition of SENTENCE for Kids
1
: a group of words that makes a statement, asks a question, or expresses a command, wish, or exclamation
2
: punishment set by a court <He served a sentence for robbery.>
3
: a mathematical statement (as an equation) in words or symbols
2sentence
verb
sen·tencedsen·tenc·ing
Definition of SENTENCE for Kids
: to set the punishment of <The judge sentenced the prisoner.>
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