1. The mark (''') used to indicate the omission of one or more letters from a printed word
   "The apostrophe in 'don't' indicates the omission of 'o' from 'do not'"
    
2. Address to an absent or imaginary person
   "Shakespeare's sonnet beginning 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?' is an example of apostrophe"

Derived forms: apostrophes

Type of: punctuation, punctuation mark [Brit], rhetorical device

Encyclopedia: Apostrophe