exclamation point

American  

noun

1. the sign (!) used in writing after an exclamation.

2. this mark sometimes used in writing two or more times in succession to indicate intensity of emotion, loudness, etc..

   Long live the Queen!!

3. this mark sometimes used without accompanying words in writing direct discourse to indicate a speaker's dumbfounded astonishment.

   “His wife just gave birth to quintuplets.”(!)

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exclamation point Cultural  

1. A punctuation mark (!) used after an abrupt and emphatic statement or after a command: “‘Help!’ he cried, as his boat floated toward the edge of Niagara Falls.”

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Etymology

Origin of exclamation point

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

The rally puts an exclamation point on the stock’s turnaround this month, as the narrative around how AI would affect many software stocks seems to have reversed to positive from negative.

From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026

“The Bride!” is a monster of its own making that isn’t trying to earn its exclamation point, but declaring it.

From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026

It starts with the exclamation point, right there in the title.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2026

The Grammys were an appropriate exclamation point on an extraordinary year that has cemented the 31-year-old's reign over global music.

From Barron's • Feb. 2, 2026

He pulled the pipe out of his mouth and poked the air with it as if typesetting an exclamation point on his accusation.

From "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos