Definition of "parenthesis" [pa•ren•the•sis]

• Either or both of the upright curved lines, ( ), used to mark off explanatory or qualifying remarks in writing or printing or enclose a sum, product, or other expression considered or treated as a collective entity in a mathematical operation. (noun)
• A qualifying or amplifying word, phrase, or sentence inserted within written matter in such a way as to be independent of the surrounding grammatical structure. (noun)
• A comment departing from the theme of discourse; a digression. (noun)
• An interruption of continuity; an interval: "This is one of the things I wasn't prepared for—the amount of unfilled time, the long parentheses of nothing” ( Margaret Atwood). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Number in parenthesis is league's total number of teams in good standing for a bid."
• "The number in parenthesis is the comparative ranking of how dangerous the drug actually is."
• "*** This info in parenthesis is a Lexicon clarification, not Hot Topic’s words."