paragraph

plural paragraphs

1. A passage in text that starts on a new line, the first line sometimes being indented, and usually marks a change of topic.

   final paragraph

   5 more examples

   opening paragraph

   paragraph heading

   Divide the writing into paragraphs.

   All which land, and all other that shall be possessed in the said Province, are to be held on the same terms and conditions as is before mentioned, and as hereafter in the following paragraphs is more at large express'd.

   1664, The Concession and Agreement of the Lords Proprietors of the Province of New Caesarea, or New Jersey, to and With All and Every the Adventurers and All Such as Shall Settle or Plant There, And that the planting of the said province may be the more speedily promoted, paragraph V

   She glanced over a story very rapidly, and if it had too many solid, page-long paragraphs—reflections, descriptions, etc.—she put it sadly but steadfastly aside. If, on the contrary, it was well broken up into conversations, which always impart an air of sprightliness to a book, she said she was sure she would like it, and carried it off in triumph.

   1892, Agnes Repplier, “Conversation in Novels”, in Essays in Miniature, pages 59-60

2. originallyA mark or note set in the margin to call attention to something in the text, such as a change of subject.
3. A brief article, notice, or announcement, as in a newspaper.

   1 more example

   Much of its earliest foreign news came direct from the minister, and not seldom in his own hand. Louis XIII. took a keen, perhaps a somewhat childish, interest in the progress of the infant Gazette, and was a frequent contributor, now and then taking his little paragraphs to the printing office himself, and seeing them put into type.

   1911, “Newspapers”, in Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th edition, volume 19, New York, N.Y.: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., page 572

4. computingAn offset of 16 bytes in Intel memory architectures.

present singular third person paragraphs · participle present paragraphing · participle past paragraphed · past paragraphed

1. transitiveTo sort text into paragraphs.
2. transitivejournalismTo publish a brief article, notice, or announcement, as in a newspaper.