mark
elementHTMLElement
.The mark
element represents
a run of text in one document marked or highlighted for reference
purposes, due to its relevance in another context. When used in a
quotation or other block of text referred to from the prose, it
indicates a highlight that was not originally present but which has
been added to bring the reader's attention to a part of the text
that might not have been considered important by the original
author when the block was originally written, but which is now
under previously unexpected scrutiny. When used in the main prose
of a document, it indicates a part of the document that has been
highlighted due to its likely relevance to the user's current
activity.
This example shows how the mark
element can be used to bring attention
to a particular part of a quotation:
<p lang="en-US">Consider the following quote:</p> <blockquote lang="en-GB"> <p>Look around and you will find, no-one's really <mark>colour</mark> blind.</p> </blockquote> <p lang="en-US">As we can tell from the <em>spelling</em> of the word, the person writing this quote is clearly not American.</p>
(If the goal was to mark the element as misspelt, however, the
u
element, possibly with a class, would be more
appropriate.)
Another example of the mark
element is highlighting parts of a
document that are matching some search string. If someone looked at
a document, and the server knew that the user was searching for the
word "kitten", then the server might return the document with one
paragraph modified as follows:
<p>I also have some <mark>kitten</mark>s who are visiting me these days. They're really cute. I think they like my garden! Maybe I should adopt a <mark>kitten</mark>.</p>
In the following snippet, a paragraph of text refers to a specific part of a code fragment.
<p>The highlighted part below is where the error lies:</p> <pre><code>var i: Integer; begin i := <mark>1.1</mark>; end.</code></pre>
This is separate from syntax highlighting, for which
span
is more appropriate. Combining both,
one would get:
<p>The highlighted part below is where the error lies:</p> <pre><code><span class=keyword>var</span> <span class=ident>i</span>: <span class=type>Integer</span>; <span class=keyword>begin</span> <span class=ident>i</span> := <span class=literal><mark>1.1</mark></span>; <span class=keyword>end</span>.</code></pre>
This is another example showing the use of mark
to highlight a part of quoted text that
was originally not emphasized. In this example, common typographic
conventions have led the author to explicitly style mark
elements in quotes to render in
italics.
<article> <style scoped> blockquote mark, q mark { font: inherit; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; background: transparent; color: inherit; } .bubble em { font: inherit; font-size: larger; text-decoration: underline; } </style> <h1>She knew</h1> <p>Did you notice the subtle joke in the joke on panel 4?</p> <blockquote> <p class="bubble">I didn't <em>want</em> to believe. <mark>Of course on some level I realized it was a known-plaintext attack.</mark> But I couldn't admit it until I saw for myself.</p> </blockquote> <p>(Emphasis mine.) I thought that was great. It's so pedantic, yet it explains everything neatly.</p> </article>
Note, incidentally, the distinction between the em
element in this example, which is part of the
original text being quoted, and the mark
element, which is highlighting a part
for comment.
The following example shows the difference between denoting the
importance of a span of text (strong
) as opposed to denoting the
relevance of a span of text (mark
). It is an extract from a textbook,
where the extract has had the parts relevant to the exam
highlighted. The safety warnings, important though they may be, are
apparently not relevant to the exam.
<h3>Wormhole Physics Introduction</h3> <p><mark>A wormhole in normal conditions can be held open for a maximum of just under 39 minutes.</mark> Conditions that can increase the time include a powerful energy source coupled to one or both of the gates connecting the wormhole, and a large gravity well (such as a black hole).</p> <p><mark>Momentum is preserved across the wormhole. Electromagnetic radiation can travel in both directions through a wormhole, but matter cannot.</mark></p> <p>When a wormhole is created, a vortex normally forms. <strong>Warning: The vortex caused by the wormhole opening will annihilate anything in its path.</strong> Vortexes can be avoided when using sufficiently advanced dialing technology.</p> <p><mark>An obstruction in a gate will prevent it from accepting a wormhole connection.</mark></p>