Dictionary

Oxford comma en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

From Oxford University Press, where such use is the house style.

Meanings

1. The serial comma.
   • It was Collins who invented the ‘Oxford comma’, for which he obtained supported from Herbert Spencer. 2002 [1978], Peter Sutcliffe, “Making the Press what it ought to be”, in The Oxford University Press, Clarendon Press, page 114:
   • But I don't want your drama / If you really wanna / Leave out that Oxford comma 2014, "Weird Al" Yankovic, “Word Crimes”:
   • It is a debate that has torn the nation in two, ripped friends and family apart, and entrenched deep and uncrossable lines throughout the land. Should the Royal Mint have used an Oxford comma on its Brexit 50p piece? 2020 January 27, Alison Flood, “Philip Pullman calls for boycott of Brexit 50p coin over 'missing' Oxford comma”, in The Guardian:
   • Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma? / I've seen those English dramas too; they're cruel / So if there's any other way to spell the word / It's fine with me, with me 2008, “Oxford Comma”, in Vampire Weekend, performed by Vampire Weekend:

Forms

Synonyms

serial comma · Harvard comma