# question mark

Pronunciation: US say "KWES-chuhn mahrk" /ˈkwɛstʃ(ə)n ˌmɑɹk/; UK say "KWES-chuhn mahk" /ˈkwɛstʃ(ə)n ˌmɑːk/

## Noun

1. The punctuation mark ?, placed at the end of a sentence to show that it is a question.
   - Simple: The mark ? that you put at the end of a sentence that asks something.
   - _You forgot the question mark at the end of your second sentence._
   - _On the field map, the geologist marked the uncertain boundaries with question marks._
2. A state of doubt or uncertainty about something. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Doubt, or a feeling that something is not certain.
   - _A question mark hangs over the stadium project now that the main sponsor has pulled out._
   - _Doctors say there are still question marks about the drug's long-term safety._
3. A person or thing that is enigmatic, inscrutable or mysterious. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A person or thing that is a mystery and hard to understand.
   - _To his classmates, the quiet boy who transferred in March was a complete question mark._
   - _The painting's meaning remains a question mark even to the experts who restored it._
5. A North American nymphalid butterfly, Polygonia interrogationis, with a silver mark shaped like a question mark on the underside of its hindwing.
   - Simple: A North American butterfly with a silver mark shaped like a question mark under its back wing.
   - _A question mark landed on the fallen pear and folded its wings, showing the silver mark underneath._
   - _Question marks turn up along the creek in late summer, feeding on sap and rotting fruit._

## Particle

4. Spoken at the end of a sentence to make it a question and show that the speaker is second-guessing it, usually in an exaggerated, rising tone. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Said out loud at the end of a sentence to show you are not sure, often with your voice going up.
   - _We could probably launch by March, question mark?_
   - _And ketchup counts as a vegetable, question mark?_

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/question-mark (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).