<blockquote>

Anonymous contributor

Published Jun 8, 2021Updated May 15, 2024

The <blockquote> element represents a section of a document which contains a longer quotation, usually spanning multiple lines.

A <blockquote> will often be shown by the browser indented from the surrounding text.

Syntax

<blockquote cite="citation url">
  <!-- The quotation goes inside the tag -->
</blockquote>

Quotations are wrapped in opening and closing <blockquote> tags. If there is a URL that the quotation comes from, the cite attribute may be used to indicate it. It behaves similar to a <div> element, but will often have a left margin set by the browser by default.

Example

Suppose that an article with a long and important quote is being written for a web page. The quote should be wrapped in <blockquote> as seen below:

<html>
  <head> </head>
  <body>
    <article>
      <h2>Article Title</h2>
      <p>First paragraph of article.</p>
      <p>Second paragraph of article.</p>
      <blockquote>
        <p>Important quote that needs to stand out.</p>
        <p></p>
        <p>Author Name, Quote Source</p>
      </blockquote>
      <p>Conclusion to article.</p>
    </article>
  </body>
</html>