punctuate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
punctuates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
punctuated,
past participle, past
-
punctuating
present participle
-
to mark or divide (something written) with punctuation marks in order to make the meaning clear.
-
to interrupt at intervals.
Cheers punctuated the mayor's speech.
-
to give emphasis or force to; emphasize; underline.
verb (used without object)
-
punctuates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
punctuated,
past participle, past
-
punctuating
present participle
verb
-
(also intr) to insert punctuation marks into (a written text)
-
to interrupt or insert at frequent intervals
a meeting punctuated by heckling
-
to give emphasis to
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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punctuatornoun
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repunctuateverb (used with object)
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nonpunctuatingadjective
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unpunctuatedadjective
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unpunctuatingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
punctuatesimple
-
punctuatessimple
-
have punctuatedperfect
-
has punctuatedperfect
-
am punctuatingprogressive
-
are punctuatingprogressive
-
is punctuatingprogressive
-
have been punctuatingperfect progressive
-
has been punctuatingperfect progressive
Past
-
punctuatedsimple
-
had punctuatedperfect
-
was punctuatingprogressive
-
were punctuatingprogressive
-
had been punctuatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of punctuate
1625–35; < Medieval Latin pūnctuātus (past participle of pūnctuāre to point), derivative of Latin pūnctus a pricking; see punctual
Explanation
Most commonly, punctuate means to insert standard marks (like periods, commas, and exclamation points) into written sentences. You punctuate sentences to give the reader additional information, such as when a sentence ends, whether or not that sentence is a question, and when a series of words might be a list. You can also punctuate, or emphasize, your words by shouting them or making them ALL CAPS. Occasionally, this verb can also mean "interrupt periodically," as when your cat walks back and forth across your keyboard, punctuating your writing with "shjkpl;" and "pohjxz."
Vocabulary lists containing punctuate
Language and Grammar - Introductory
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Refugee
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Common Core Grades 7–8, List 5
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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.
See Examples For:
But against the powerful Thunder, Reaves didn’t get a chance to punctuate his comeback night with any emphatic celebration.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
The earnings punctuate one of the more impressive advances for the market since the Covid pandemic.
From Barron's ● Apr. 27, 2026
It’s obviously being used to punctuate the ending of a chapter with the show coming to a close.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 17, 2026
Imagine this: The cheerful, if slightly scolding voices of the self-checkout machines punctuate the steady hum of fluorescent lights.
From Salon ● Jan. 3, 2026
Nyame points the akrafena at me to punctuate his point.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
He routinely punctuates his public speeches with historical anecdotes and oddities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
That Garbus shuffles late-night bits into the action punctuates the blur of corporate interests and celebrity that the Murdochs represent.
From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2026
An unexpected board drama at Denmark’s Novo Nordisk punctuates an already tumultuous year in which the maker of the blockbusters Ozempic and Wegovy plans to slash 9,000 workers globally.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2025
Once more, it was a realpolitik that punctuates the Portuguese's career - and would sit well with the realism of Hardy.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2025
“Man, I love this guy,” says Dylan, and he punctuates it with a squeeze.
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
His anecdotes are punctuated with nervous laughter, although he's better at making eye contact than when we first met in the Killers' heyday.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Instead, the humid silence is punctuated by the diesel generators, the occasional Bluetooth speaker or the tinny buzzing of a cell phone squeezing out reggaeton, reparto or US pop.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
It wasn’t until the fifth that Skubal at last punctuated Jac with a K.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
The episode punctuated how reflexively we latch onto the idea of weakness as the primary outgrowth of racial injustice.
From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026
Unpredictable severe droughts last for years, punctuated by equally unpredictable torrential rains and floods.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
“Show me the criticism of raw milk if it’s safe,” he told me, one hand on the wheel, the other punctuating his points in the air.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
It looks more like a college campus with the occasional patch of grass punctuating the cell blocks.
From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2025
The rookie Thiero also made his debut against the Bucks, scoring four points and punctuating his first NBA appearance with an emphatic two-handed dunk in the final minute.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 16, 2025
“I’m holding and I will buy more tomorrow! already 30k shares. LET’S GO,” one wrote, punctuating the statement with a large number of exclamation points.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2025
Slowly, all around me, too, the church ladies began nodding their approval, punctuating his sentences with calls of “Mmmm-hmm” and “That’s right!”
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
