squarebracketed

Squarebracketed is an adjective used to describe text or material that is enclosed or indicated by square brackets, [ ... ]. The term is common in editing, linguistics, theatre, and digital notation. While often written as square-bracketed, squarebracketed appears in technical writing and some dictionaries.

In editing and publishing, bracketed material signals additions, clarifications, or interpolations supplied by an editor rather than the original author. Examples include [emphasis added], [sic], or [name redacted]. Brackets may also enclose editorial notes about pronunciation, dates, or dubious readings.

In linguistics, brackets are used to mark phonetic transcriptions or analytical notes. Narrow phonetic transcription is typically placed inside square brackets, e.g., [t], while broader, phonemic transcription uses slashes / /. Brackets also surround glosses or semantic notes like [past tense] or [unintelligible].

In drama and film scripts, bracketed text often represents stage directions or descriptive commentary, e.g., [Enter Hero], [laughs]. In quotations, brackets indicate insertions or clarifications made by the author or editor to aid reader comprehension.

In computing and markup, square brackets appear in command syntax to denote optional elements or arrays, and in some markups to indicate links or placeholders. The exact use of square brackets varies by system, but the bracketed form remains a standard way to mark supplementary material.