punctuation

American  

[puhngk-choo-ey-shuhn] / ˌpʌŋk tʃuˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the practice or system of using certain conventional marks or characters in writing or printing in order to separate elements and make the meaning clear, as in ending a sentence or separating clauses.

2. the act of punctuating.

3. punctuation marks.

4. Biology. the sudden or accelerated extinction of some species and emergence of others, occurring only in isolated periods, as set forth in the theory of punctuated equilibrium.

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punctuation British  

/ ˌpʌŋktjʊˈeɪʃən /

noun

1. the use of symbols not belonging to the alphabet of a writing system to indicate aspects of the intonation and meaning not otherwise conveyed in the written language

2. the symbols used for this purpose

3. the act or an instance of punctuating

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• repunctuation
  noun
• punctuational
  adjective
• nonpunctuation
  noun
• punctuative
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of punctuation

First recorded in 1530–40; from Medieval Latin pūnctuātiōn- (stem of pūnctuātiō ) “a marking, pointing”; see punctuate, -ion

Explanation

Punctuation is marking that clarifies sentences. if you write a sentence that is a string of words even if theyre good words but you do it without punctuation then it will look like this making your reader unhappy Punctuation tells you when a sentence has come to an end, or if it's a question, and you can't write a sentence without at least one punctuation mark: the period. You can also use punctuation to talk about non-verbal emphasis. If you tell your dog to stop chewing your shoe, you might stamp your foot as punctuation. A slow speaker who chews slightly at the end of each sentence has an unfortunate kind of punctuation.

Example Sentences

To find out how punctuation was invented in the first place, I spoke with Keith Houston, a Scottish software engineer and author of “Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols & Other Typographical Marks.”

From Washington Post • Feb. 13, 2022

While quotations are covered more extensively in Punctuation, this section will introduce you to using quotations in a review.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

Punctuation activism can be an important companion to on-the-ground activism.

From Salon • Jul. 3, 2021

Punctuation in texting - a period at the end of a message or one exclamation mark versus two - carries real weight.

From BBC • Dec. 9, 2019

Punctuation directs you how to read, in the way musical notation directs a musician how to play.

From "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Author