Meanings
plural em dashes · alternative emdash · alternative em-dash · alternative m dash
- mediaThe symbol (—) (used to demarcate a parenthetical thought or to indicate a break, or for emphasis); a one-em or long dash.
So now, no matter where it’s coming from or why, millions of people recognize the em dash as a sign of zero-effort, low-quality algorithmic slop.
2025 December 3, Sam Kriss, “Why Does A.I. Write Like … That?”, in The New York Times Magazine, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 03 Dec 2025Synonyms: em rule, m-rule, mutton dash, ChatGPT hyphen
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe symbol (—) (used to demarcate a parenthetical thought or to indicate a break, or for emphasis); a one-em or long dash.
Origin
Named for its width, which is equal to the width of the letter m or M, or approximately twice the width of an en dash.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 長破折號 /长破折号
- 長破折號 /长破折号typographical symbol '—'
Czech dlouhá pomlčka
- dlouhá pomlčkatypographical symbol '—'
Dutch heel kastlijntje
- heel kastlijntjetypographical symbol '—'
Finnish m-viiva, pitkä ajatusviiva
- m-viivatypographical symbol '—'
- pitkä ajatusviivatypographical symbol '—'
French tiret cadratin
- tiret cadratintypographical symbol '—'
German Geviertstrich
- Geviertstrichtypographical symbol '—'
Greek διπλή παύλα
- διπλή παύλα (diplí pávla)typographical symbol '—'
Hungarian kvirtmínusz
- kvirtmínusztypographical symbol '—'
Icelandic þankastrik
- þankastriktypographical symbol '—'
Irish eim-dais
- eim-daistypographical symbol '—'
Italian lineetta emme
- lineetta emmetypographical symbol '—'
Persian تمامخط
- تمامخط (tamâm-xat)typographical symbol '—'
Polish pauza
- pauzatypographical symbol '—'
Portuguese travessão
- travessãotypographical symbol '—'
Russian тире́
- тире́ (tirɛ́)typographical symbol '—'
Spanish raya
- rayatypographical symbol '—'
Swedish långt tankstreck, helfyrkantsminus
- långt tankstrecktypographical symbol '—'
- helfyrkantsminustypographical symbol '—'
Tagalog gatlang em
- gatlang emtypographical symbol '—'
Cite this entry
em dash. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/em%20dash
“em dash.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/em%20dash. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “em dash,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/em%20dash.
Source: em dash on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.