SEMICOLON, also semi-colon. The PUNCTUATION mark (;). Its main roles are: (1) To link statements that are closely associated or that complement or parallel each other in some way: We will stay here; you may go. In this role, it can link clauses (they were poor; they had few clothes; they were often in despair) or phrases or a mixture of phrases and clauses (they had no money; nor any clothes; nor could they find work). It marks antithesis, often with a word such as and, but, or yet to emphasize this: They were poor; and yet they were happy. Words such as however, nonetheless/none the less, and moreover are usually preceded by a semicolon when they begin a new statement; books are cheap; moreover, they last a lifetime. (2) To mark a stronger division in a sentence that is already punctuated with commas (several people were still waiting, impatiently shuffling their feet, looking bored; but none of them, in spite of this, seemed willing to speak). The semicolon is often avoided in ordinary writing, or replaced with a dash, because many users lack confidence in it. It is most often found in print. See COLON.

sem·i·co·lon / ˈsemiˌkōlən; ˈsemˌī-/ • n. a punctuation mark (;) indicating a pause, typically between two main clauses, that is more pronounced than that indicated by a comma.