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.”(!)

---

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.”

---

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 28, 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 final exclamation point, however, came from a bunch of guys who were missing more than a few teeth.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026

Jane: Sorry, that might have been inappropriate exclamation point use.

From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan