What does "mark" mean?
Boundary, land within a boundary.; A boundary; a border or frontier.
Mark
/mɑːk/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Boundary, land within a boundary.; A boundary; a border or frontier.
- Grammar: mark is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: grade, score, sign, stain.
- Useful contrasts: historic code, cleanness, disregard.
- Usage evidence: Your guess is entirely off the mark.
How to use "mark"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "mark" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "mark" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "mark" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "mark" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "mark" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "grade" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "mark", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Boundary, land within a boundary.; A boundary; a border or frontier. obsolete
- 2 A half pound, a traditional unit of mass equivalent to 226.8 g. historical
- 3 A former currency of Germany and West Germany. historical
"Aus der Geschichte der menschlichen Dummheit. By Dr. Max Kemmerich. Price 3 mark 50 pfennige. Bavaria: Verlag Albert Langen, Munich."
- 4 Abbreviation of Markarian. abbreviation, alt-of
- 5 something that exactly succeeds in achieving its goal wordnet
Show 47 more definitions
- 6 Boundary, land within a boundary.; A boundary-post or fence. obsolete
- 7 Similar half-pound units in other measurement systems, chiefly used for gold and silver. historical
"As a reward for his poetry, Athelstan gave Egil two more gold rings weighing a mark each, along with an expensive cloak that the king himself had worn."
- 8 the impression created by doing something unusual or extraordinary that people notice and remember wordnet
- 9 Boundary, land within a boundary.; A stone or post used to indicate position and guide travellers.
"I do remember a great thron in Yatton field near Bristow-way, against which Sir William Waller's men made a great fire and killed it. I think the stump remains, and was a mark for travellers."
- 10 A half pound, a former English and Scottish currency equivalent to 13 shillings and fourpence and notionally equivalent to a mark of sterling silver. historical
"George, on receiving it, instantly rose from the side of one of them, and said, in the hearing of them all, ‘I will bet a hundred merks that is Drummond.’"
- 11 a marking that consists of lines that cross each other wordnet
- 12 Boundary, land within a boundary.; A type of small region or principality. archaic
"There dwells Théoden son of Thengel, King of the Mark of Rohan."
- 13 Other similar currencies notionally equal to a mark of silver or gold. historical
- 14 an indication of damage wordnet
- 15 Boundary, land within a boundary.; A common, or area of common land, especially among early Germanic peoples. historical
- 16 a number or letter indicating quality (especially of a student's performance) wordnet
- 17 Characteristic, sign, visible impression.; An omen; a symptomatic indicator of something.
"depend upon it, you will speedily receive from me a letter of thanks for this as well as for every other mark of your regard during my stay in Hertfordshire."
- 18 a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened) wordnet
- 19 Characteristic, sign, visible impression.; A characteristic feature.
"A good sense of manners is the mark of a true gentleman."
- 20 a symbol of disgrace or infamy wordnet
- 21 Characteristic, sign, visible impression.; A visible impression or sign; a blemish, scratch, or stain, whether accidental or intentional.
"Then she put before her face her poor crushed hands, which bore on their whiteness the red mark of the Count's terrible grip[…]."
- 22 a visible indication made on a surface wordnet
- 23 Characteristic, sign, visible impression.; A sign or brand on a person.
"Doubt not of thine election, it is an immutable decree; a mark never to be defaced: you have been otherwise, you may and shall be."
- 24 a written or printed symbol (as for punctuation) wordnet
- 25 Characteristic, sign, visible impression.; A written character or sign.
"The font wasn't able to render all the diacritical marks properly."
- 26 a reference point to shoot at wordnet
- 27 Characteristic, sign, visible impression.; A stamp or other indication of provenance, quality etc.
"With eggs, you need to check for the quality mark before you buy."
- 28 a distinguishing symbol wordnet
- 29 Characteristic, sign, visible impression.; Resemblance, likeness, image. obsolete
- 30 a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of wordnet
- 31 Characteristic, sign, visible impression.; A particular design or make of an item (now usually with following numeral).
"I am proud to present my patented travelator, mark two."
- 32 formerly the basic unit of money in Germany wordnet
- 33 Characteristic, sign, visible impression.; A score for finding the correct answer, or other academic achievement; the sum of such points gained as out of a possible total. Commonwealth
"What mark did you get in your history test?"
- 34 Indicator of position, objective etc.; A target for shooting at with a projectile.
"A skilfull archer ought first to know the marke he aimeth at, and then apply his hand, his bow, his string, his arrow and his motion accordingly."
- 35 Indicator of position, objective etc.; An indication or sign used for reference or measurement.
"I filled the bottle up to the 500ml mark."
- 36 Indicator of position, objective etc.; The target or intended victim of a swindle, fixed game or con game; a gullible person; a professional wrestling fan who believes matches are legitimate contests rather than scripted or predetermined informal
"Another common form of short con is the shell game. This scam has the advantage of giving the criminal the ability to rip off many marks all at one location."
- 37 Indicator of position, objective etc.; The female genitals. obsolete
"A mark saies my Lady. Let the mark haue a prick in't, to meate at, if it may be."
- 38 Indicator of position, objective etc.; A catch of the ball directly from a kick of 10 metres or more without having been touched in transit, resulting in a free kick.
- 39 Indicator of position, objective etc.; The line indicating an athlete's starting-point.
- 40 Indicator of position, objective etc.; A score for a sporting achievement.
- 41 Indicator of position, objective etc.; An official note that is added to a record kept about someone's behavior or performance.
"A mark for tardiness or for absence is considered by most pupils a disgrace, and strenuous efforts are made to avoid such a mark."
- 42 Indicator of position, objective etc.; A specified level on a scale denoting gas-powered oven temperatures.
"Now put the pastry in at 450 degrees, or mark 8."
- 43 Indicator of position, objective etc.; The model number of a device; a device model.
"The Mark I system had poor radar, and the Mark II was too expensive; regardless, most antiaircraft direction remained the responsibility of the Mark I Eyeball (as the jocular phrase calls it): that is, the operator's eye."
- 44 Indicator of position, objective etc.; Limit or standard of action or fact.
"to be within the mark"
- 45 Indicator of position, objective etc.; Badge or sign of honour, rank, or official station.
"In the official marks invested, you / Anon do meet the Senate."
- 46 Indicator of position, objective etc.; Preeminence; high position. archaic
"patricians of mark"
- 47 Indicator of position, objective etc.; A characteristic or essential attribute; a differential.
- 48 Indicator of position, objective etc.; One of the bits of leather or coloured bunting placed upon a sounding line at intervals of from two to five fathoms. (The unmarked fathoms are called "deeps".)
- 49 Attention.
"But faults so countenanced, that the strong statutes Stand like the forfeits in a barber's shop, as much in mock as mark"
- 50 Attention.; Attention, notice. archaic
"His last comment is particularly worthy of mark."
- 51 Attention.; Importance, noteworthiness. (Generally in postmodifier “of mark”.)
"in the short story of western flavor he was a pioneer of mark, the founder of a genre: probably no other writer is so significant in his field."
- 52 Attention.; Regard; respect. obsolete
Verb
- 1 To put a mark on (something); to make (something) recognizable by a mark; to label or write on (something).
"to mark a box or bale of merchandise"
- 2 Alternative form of march. alt-of, alternative, imperative
"Mark time, mark!"
- 3 insert punctuation marks into wordnet
- 4 To leave a mark (often an undesirable or unwanted one) on (something).
"See where this pencil has marked the paper."
- 5 make or leave a mark on wordnet
Show 35 more definitions
- 6 To have a long-lasting negative impact on (someone or something). figuratively
"The death of his wife, followed by months of being alone, had marked him with guilt and shame and had left an unbreaking loneliness on him."
- 7 celebrate by some ceremony or observation wordnet
- 8 To create an indication of (a location).
"She folded over the corner of the page to mark where she left off reading."
- 9 be a distinctive feature, attribute, or trait; sometimes in a very positive sense wordnet
- 10 To be an indication of (something); to show where (something) is located.
"This monument marks the spot where Wolfe died."
- 11 assign a grade or rank to, according to one's evaluation wordnet
- 12 To indicate (something) in writing or by other symbols.
"Prices are marked on individual items."
- 13 put a check mark on or near or next to wordnet
- 14 To create (a mark) on a surface.
"[…] on opening it [the handkerchief], I saw an S mark’d in one of the corners."
- 15 remove from a list wordnet
- 16 To celebrate or acknowledge (an event) through an action of some kind.
"The national holiday is marked by fireworks."
- 17 designate as if by a mark wordnet
- 18 To identify (someone as a particular type of person or as having a particular role).
"His courage and energy marked him as a leader."
- 19 make underscoring marks wordnet
- 20 To assign (someone) to a particular category or class.
"The new captain would read the fitness report and mark him once and for all as an unreliable fool […]"
- 21 establish as the highest level or best performance wordnet
- 22 To choose or intend (someone) for a particular end or purpose.
"When a king, hath once markt for his hate, / A man inferior; […] / […] euermore, he rakes vp in his brest, / Brands of quicke anger;"
- 23 make small marks into the surface of wordnet
- 24 To be a point in time or space at which something takes place; to accompany or be accompanied by (an event, action, etc.); to coincide with.
"The creek marks the boundary between the two farms."
- 25 mark with a scar wordnet
- 26 To be typical or characteristic of (something).
"[…] he still retained that simple, unostentatious elegance, that marks the man of real fashion—"
- 27 attach a tag or label to wordnet
- 28 To distinguish (one person or thing from another).
"Indeed the smoke was such they scarce could mark Their friends from foes,"
- 29 notice or perceive wordnet
- 30 To focus one's attention on (something or someone); to pay attention to, to take note of.
"Mark my words: that boy’s up to no good."
- 31 to accuse or condemn or openly or formally or brand as disgraceful wordnet
- 32 To become aware of (something) through the physical senses. dated
"Some of them [the Animals] coming forward near the place where I lay, gave me an opportunity of distinctly marking their Form."
- 33 To hold (someone) in one's line of sight.
"I marked my man, standing on the catwalk, and waited to throw [my javelin] till he started to climb inboard before they rammed."
- 34 To indicate the correctness of and give a score to (a school assignment, exam answers, etc.). Canada, UK
"The teacher had to spend her weekend marking all the tests."
- 35 To record that (someone) has a particular status.
"to mark a student absent."
- 36 To keep account of; to enumerate and register; to keep score. intransitive, transitive
"to mark the points in a game of billiards or a card game"
- 37 To follow a player not in possession of the ball when defending, to prevent them receiving a pass easily.
- 38 To catch the ball directly from a kick of 15 metres or more without having been touched in transit, resulting in a free kick.
- 39 To put a marker in the place of one's ball.
- 40 To sing softly, sometimes an octave lower than usual, in order to protect one's voice during a rehearsal.
Proper Noun
- 1 A male given name from Latin. countable, uncountable
""And your name?" she said, "I suppose it's quite unremarkable?" "Very funny." "Mark. It could stand as a symbol of a man, for men as a category," she reflected, "but I don't suppose that's why your mother gave it to you?" "My mother's motives always were impenetrable to me. I was her only child, she wanted a simple life. So she gave me a simple name to go along with it. --- It wasn't a popular name until the nineteenth century. People were put off by King Mark in the Tristram and Iseult.""
- 2 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 3 Mark the Evangelist, also called John Mark, the first patriarch of Alexandria, credited with the authorship of the Gospel of Mark. countable, uncountable
"And Barnabas was determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought it not good to take him with them, who departed from them in Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder from the other; and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed to Cyprus."
- 4 The Gospel of St. Mark, a book of the New Testament of the Bible. Traditionally the second of the four gospels. countable, uncountable
- 5 A village and civil parish in Somerset, England, previously in Sedgemoor district (OS grid ref ST3747). countable, uncountable
Example
"Your guess is entirely off the mark."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "mark"?
Common synonyms include: grade, score, sign, stain, target, dupe.
How do you use "mark" in a sentence?
Your guess is entirely off the mark.
How do you pronounce "mark"?
Pronounced /mɑːk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English mark, merk, merke, from Old English mearc (“mark, sign, line of division; standard; boundary, limit, term, border; defined area, district, province”), from Proto-West Germanic *marku, from Proto-Germanic *markō (“boundary; boundary marker”), from Proto-Indo-European *mórǵs (“edge, boundary, border”). Compare march. Cognates * Dutch mark, merk (“mark, brand”) * German Mark (“mark; borderland”), Marke (“mark, brand”) * Swedish mark (“mark, land, territory”) * Icelandic mark (“mark, sign”) * Latin margō (“edge, margin”) * Persian مرز (marz, “limit, boundary”) * Sanskrit मर्या (maryā, “limit, mark, boundary”), मार्ग (mārga, “mark, section”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English mark, from Old English marc (“a denomination of weight (usu. half a pound), mark (money of account)”), from Proto-West Germanic *mark, from Proto-Germanic *marką (“mark, sign”). Cognate with Dutch mark (“mark”), Swedish mark (“a stamped coin”), Icelandic mörk (“a weight, usu. a pound, of silver or gold”). Doublet of markka.
Etymology 3
From German Mark, from Middle High German marc, marche, marke, from Old High German marc, from Proto-West Germanic *mark (whence etymology 2 via Old English marc). The identical plural is also from German.
Etymology 4
An alternative form supposedly easier to pronounce while giving commands.
Etymology 5
From Middle English Mark, from the Latin praenomen (i.e. first name) Mārcus, derived from Mārs, the Roman god of war, originally Māvors, from Proto-Italic *Māwortis.