What is a paragraph? Paragraphs are the building blocks of papers. Many students define paragraphs in terms of length: a paragraph is a group of at least five sentences, a paragraph is half a page long, etc. In reality, though, the unity and coherence of ideas among sentences is what constitutes a paragraph. a statement that tells you how something or someone looks, sounds, etc. : words that describe something or someone. [count] Reporters called the scene “a disaster area,” and I think that was an accurate