exclamation point

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.”(!)

exclamation point

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.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of exclamation point¹

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

“He comes at you and hits you, and it’s a chorus—all caps, with exclamation points.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Fresh ingredients are the exclamation point on your loaded fries — they cut, balance, and highlight the indulgence while keeping the dish feeling like a proper, thoughtful dinner.

Read more on Salon

Fox News has never been bothered by the Trumpian approach to social media, with its all-caps posts and multiple exclamation points.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"It was wild, but it worked... He's the good kind of crazy," she said, calling her boyfriend "a human exclamation point".

Read more on BBC

A six-time national champion and three-time world champion, Chen put an exclamation point on his career with a dominant performance in Beijing.

Read more on Los Angeles Times