quote

A "quote" is like capturing a small piece of someone else's voice, their exact words. It is when you repeat something a person said or wrote, often to support your own idea or to give credit. You might quote a famous author in an essay, or quote a friend while telling a funny story.

The word works as both a verb and a noun. To quote someone is to repeat their words. A quote is the part that gets repeated. People are often "quoted" in the news when reporters include their exact words. The word can also mean a price estimate for a job or service, and in business or finance it can mean the current listed price of something.

A "quote"—short for quotation—refers to a group of words taken from a speech, book, poem, or other source and repeated by someone else. It's essentially borrowing language to add weight, authority, or color to your own writing or conversation. For example: "The only way to do great work is to love what you do" is a famous quote from Steve Jobs.

You can quote directly by repeating the words exactly as they were spoken or written, usually with quotation marks (" "). You can also report someone's idea in your own words, but that is usually called paraphrasing rather than quoting.

Quotes are used a lot in academic writing to support arguments and show research. They are also common in journalism, speeches, and everyday conversation to add trust, share evidence, or make a point clearer. A well-chosen quote can make a thought easy to remember.

The word also has other common uses. A quote can be a formal price estimate, such as when you ask a contractor for the cost of home repairs. In that case, they are "quoting" a price for the work. In business and finance, a quote can also mean the current stated price of a stock, currency, or other item being traded. Whether you are sharing someone's exact words or checking a price, the idea is the same: a quote gives a precise form of information.