Synonyms

full stop

American

noun

period.

full stop British

noun

Also called (esp US and Canadian): period. the punctuation mark (.) used at the end of a sentence that is not a question or exclamation, after abbreviations, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of full stop

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

And sometimes that gaze is just discomfiting, full stop.

From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2026

Last year’s full stop on hiring is loosening up a bit.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 8, 2026

Despite Schjerfbeck’s time in Paris, she seems to have ignored what the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists were doing, but at intervals, early paintings make you come to a full stop.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 3, 2026

I've replied to many an email - my punctuation may be extra but a full stop feels blunt.

From BBC • Dec. 14, 2025

We sat for a moment, shaken, at a full stop.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023