A morpheme is defined as:

A morpheme is defined as:

• A. The largest unit of syntax
• B. A phoneme that carries stress
• C. A sentence segment
• D. The smallest unit of meaning

Answer: (D)

A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning in a language. It’s the tiniest piece that can carry semantic content or grammatical information and can’t be divided into smaller meaningful parts without changing the meaning. Some morphemes stand alone as words (free morphemes) like “cat” or “run,” while others must attach to other morphemes to add meaning (bound morphemes) such as the plural suffix “-s” in “cats” or the past tense “-ed” in “walked.” These building blocks combine to form more complex words, showing how meaning is constructed piece by piece. The other options point to larger language units or to sounds rather than meaning, so they don’t fit the definition of a morpheme.

A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning in a language. It’s the tiniest piece that can carry semantic content or grammatical information and can’t be divided into smaller meaningful parts without changing the meaning. Some morphemes stand alone as words (free morphemes) like “cat” or “run,” while others must attach to other morphemes to add meaning (bound morphemes) such as the plural suffix “-s” in “cats” or the past tense “-ed” in “walked.” These building blocks combine to form more complex words, showing how meaning is constructed piece by piece. The other options point to larger language units or to sounds rather than meaning, so they don’t fit the definition of a morpheme.