Definition of mark noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

mark

noun

/mɑːk/

/mɑːrk/

symbol

a written or printed symbol that is used as a sign of something, for example the quality of something or who made or owns it

I put a mark in the margin to remind me to check the figure.
Any piece of silver bearing his mark is extremely valuable.
A faint pencil mark showed where the house was on the map.
Every image is made up of hundreds of brush marks.

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standard/grade

(especially British English) a number or letter that is given to show the standard of somebody’s work or performance or is given to somebody for answering something correctly

to get a good/poor mark in English
to give somebody a high/low mark
What's the pass mark (= the mark you need in order to pass)?

spot/dirt

a small area of dirt, a spot or a cut on a surface that makes it look less good

The children left dirty marks all over the kitchen floor.
There was a red mark on his arm.
a burn/scratch mark
Detectives found no marks on the body.

Synonyms markmarkstain ▪ fingerprint ▪ streak ▪ speck ▪ blot ▪ smear ▪ spotThese are all words for a small area of dirt or another substance on a surface.mark a small area of dirt, a spot or a cut on a surface that makes it look less good:

The kids left dirty marks all over the kitchen floor.

stain a dirty mark on something that is difficult to remove, especially one made by a liquid:

blood stains

fingerprint a mark on a surface made by the pattern of lines on the end of a person’s finger, often used by the police to identify criminals:

Her fingerprints were all over the gun.

streak a long, thin mark or line that is a different colour from the surface it is on:

She had streaks of grey in her hair.

speck a very small mark, spot or piece of a substance on something:

There isn’t a speck of dust anywhere in the house.

blot a spot or dirty mark left on something by a substance such as ink or paint being dropped on a surfacesmear a mark made by something such as oil or paint being spread or rubbed on a surfacespot a small dirty mark on something:

There were grease spots all over the walls.

Patterns

a streak/speck/blot/smear/spot of something
a greasy mark/stain/smear
an ink mark/stain/blot/spot
a grease mark/stain/spot
to leave a mark/stain/fingerprint/streak/speck/blot/smear

sign

a sign that a quality or feeling exists

On the day of the funeral businesses remained closed as a mark of respect.
Such coolness under pressure is the mark of a champion.

Extra Examples

Such thoughtful behaviour is the mark of a true gentleman.
the real mark of a master craftsman

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

deep
indelible
permanent
…

verb + mark

bear
have
leave
…

preposition

mark of

phrases

as a mark of respect
make your mark

See full entry

level

a level or point that something reaches that is thought to be important

Unemployment has passed the four million mark.
Ratings had soared towards the 20 million mark.
The needle was flickering around the 80 mark.
She was leading at the halfway mark.

machine/vehicle

Mark

(followed by a number) a particular type or model of a machine or vehicle

the Mark II engine

in gas oven

Mark

(British English) (followed by a number) a particular level of temperature in a gas oven

Preheat the oven to gas Mark 6.

for signing document

a cross made on a document instead of a signature by somebody who is not able to write their name

target

(formal) a target

Of the blows delivered, barely half found their mark.
to hit/miss the mark
(figurative) Shock tactics often fall wide of their mark (= are not successful).

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

easy

verb + mark

find
hit
miss
…

phrases

wide of the mark

See full entry

German money

(also Deutschmark, DM)

the former unit of money in Germany (replaced in 2002 by the euro)Topics Moneyc2

Word Originnoun senses 1 to 10 Old English mearc, gemerce (noun), mearcian (verb), of Germanic origin; from an Indo-European root shared by Latin margo ‘margin’. noun sense 11 Old English marc, from Old Norse mǫrk; probably related to mark (other senses).

Idioms

be close to/near the mark

to be fairly accurate in a guess, statement, etc.
- Such guesses are thought to be close to the mark.
- ‘The Times’ was nearer the mark when it said…
Topics Doubt, guessing and certaintyc2

be off the mark

not to be accurate in a guess, statement, etc.
- No, you're way off the mark.
Topics Doubt, guessing and certaintyc2

be on the mark

to be accurate or correct
- That estimate was right on the mark.
- I think that your idea is right on the mark.

fall short of the mark | fall short of something

to fail to reach the standard that you expected or need
- Taylor's solution falls short of the mark.

get off the mark

to start scoring in a game or sport
- Stewart got off the mark with a four.

hit/miss the mark

to succeed/fail in achieving or guessing something
- He blushed furiously and Robyn knew she had hit the mark.
- The film misses the mark because it just isn't believable.
Topics Successc2, Doubt, guessing and certaintyc2, Difficulty and failurec2

leave your/its/a mark (on something/somebody)

to have an effect on something/somebody, especially a bad one, that lasts for a long time
- Such a traumatic experience was bound to leave its mark on the children.
- War has left its mark on the country.
- She left a permanent mark on racing history.
- The experience left a deep mark on his memory.

make your/a mark (on something)

to become famous and successful in a particular area
- He has already made his mark on the music industry.
- She quickly made her mark as a film director.
- Women are continuing to make their mark in business.
Topics Successc1

not be/feel up to the mark

(British English, old-fashioned) not to feel as well or lively as usual
- I’m not feeling up to the mark at the moment.

on your marks, get set, go!

used to tell runners in a race to get ready and then to start

overstep the mark/line

to behave in a way that people think is not acceptable
- She realized she had overstepped the mark and quickly apologized.

quick/slow off the mark

fast/slow in reacting to a situation
- If you’re quick off the mark in answering these questions, you could win a prize.
- The government was slow off the mark in responding to the crisis.

toe the mark (North American English)

(also toe the (party) line British and North American English)

to say or do what somebody in authority tells you to say or do, even if you do not share the same opinions, etc.
- One or two of them refused to toe the mark.
- They rarely fail to toe the mark.

up to the mark (British English)

(North American English up to snuff)

as good as it/they should be synonym up to scratch
- Your work isn't really up to the mark.

wide of the mark

not accurate
- Their predictions turned out to be wide of the mark.

See mark in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee mark in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

Check pronunciation: mark

Other results

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Phrasal verbs

Idioms

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admire

verb

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