characters: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C1Neutral (common across all registers)
Quick answer
What does “characters” mean?
The plural of 'character' refers to 1) the letters, numbers, and symbols used in writing.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
The plural of 'character' refers to 1) the letters, numbers, and symbols used in writing; 2) the individuals in a story, film, or play; 3) the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.
Can also refer to the overall nature or quality of a place or thing (e.g., 'a house of historic character'), and informally to an eccentric or unusual person.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Minor spelling differences in derived forms (e.g., characterise/characterize). The word 'characters' itself is identical.
Connotations
Identical.
Frequency
Equally high frequency in both varieties.
Grammar
How to Use “characters” in a Sentence
[verb] + characters (e.g., write, type, create, develop, play)characters + [verb] (e.g., characters appear, interact, develop)characters + [preposition] + (e.g., characters in a novel, characters on the screen)Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “characters” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The author characterises his protagonist as a tortured soul.
- The software characterises each input signal.
American English
- The author characterizes his protagonist as a tortured soul.
- The software characterizes each input signal.
adverb
British English
- He spoke characteristically slowly.
- She is characteristically late.
American English
- He spoke characteristically slowly.
- She is characteristically late.
adjective
British English
- The actor gave a characteristically witty performance.
- This is a characteristic feature of his work.
American English
- The actor gave a characteristically witty performance.
- This is a characteristic feature of his work.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Refers to brand identity or company ethos (e.g., 'The characters of our two merging firms are very different').
Academic
Used in literary analysis (fictional characters) or computing (alphanumeric characters).
Everyday
Most common in discussing films/books ('my favourite characters') or describing people ('he's a real character').
Technical
In computing: a unit of textual information (ASCII characters). In law: references to 'character evidence'.
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “characters”
- Using 'character' as a countable noun for moral quality (e.g., 'He has a strong character' is correct; 'He has strong characters' is wrong for this meaning).
- Misspelling as 'caracters'.
- Confusing 'characters' (letters) with 'fonts' or 'typefaces'.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is the standard plural form of the noun 'character'. However, when 'character' means 'moral nature', it is usually uncountable and does not have a plural form.
All letters (A, B, C) are characters, but not all characters are letters. Characters include numbers (1, 2, 3), punctuation marks (., !, ?), and symbols (@, #, $).
Yes, informally. Saying 'The pub was full of interesting characters' means it was full of interesting or unusual people.
Context is key. Look at the surrounding words: 'Chinese characters' (writing), 'film characters' (fictional people), 'a man of good character' (moral qualities).
The plural of 'character' refers to 1) the letters, numbers, and symbols used in writing.
Characters is usually neutral (common across all registers) in register.
Characters: in British English it is pronounced /ˈkærəktəz/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈkɛrəktərz/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “In character”
- “Out of character”
- “A character assassination”
- “A character witness”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a CAST list for a play (the characters) and the CAST on a keyboard you type with (the characters). Both are sets.
Conceptual Metaphor
PERSONALITY IS A WRITTEN SCRIPT ('He's a man of good character'); ABSTRACT QUALITIES ARE PHYSICAL MARKS ('The incident left a mark on his character').
Practice
Quiz
In which sentence does 'characters' refer specifically to written symbols?