punctuate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to mark or divide (something written) with punctuation marks in order to make the meaning clear.
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to interrupt at intervals.
Cheers punctuated the mayor's speech.
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to give emphasis or force to; emphasize; underline.
verb (used without object)
verb
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(also intr) to insert punctuation marks into (a written text)
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to interrupt or insert at frequent intervals
a meeting punctuated by heckling
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to give emphasis to
Other Word Forms
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.
While not exactly winding down its tenseness, “Omaha” exits with some explanatory text about the origins of its narrative that will punctuate your sadness with shocks.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
The earnings punctuate one of the more impressive advances for the market since the Covid pandemic.
From Barron's • Apr. 27, 2026
Throughout the series, friendship bracelets are traded, strangers become fast friends, crew members form family bonds, and surprise guests punctuate intimate backstage moments.
From BBC • Dec. 12, 2025
As framed by beautiful, evocative pairings that punctuate the show’s final galleries, the conversation continued, with some of Manet’s later boudoir interiors and portraits of fashionable Parisiennes unthinkable without Morisot’s example.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 25, 2025
She went back to reading aloud a tragic love poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson—who, I guess, couldn’t figure out how to punctuate his own name.
From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt
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.
