punctuation

American  

[puhngk-choo-ey-shuhn] / ˌpʌŋk tʃuˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the practice or system of using certain conventional marks or characters in writing or printing in order to separate elements and make the meaning clear, as in ending a sentence or separating clauses.

2. the act of punctuating.

3. punctuation marks.

4. Biology.  the sudden or accelerated extinction of some species and emergence of others, occurring only in isolated periods, as set forth in the theory of punctuated equilibrium.

---

punctuation British  

/ ˌpʌŋktjʊˈeɪʃən /

noun

1. the use of symbols not belonging to the alphabet of a writing system to indicate aspects of the intonation and meaning not otherwise conveyed in the written language

2. the symbols used for this purpose

3. the act or an instance of punctuating

---

Other Word Forms

• nonpunctuation noun
• punctuational adjective
• punctuative adjective
• repunctuation noun

Etymology

Origin of punctuation

First recorded in 1530–40; from Medieval Latin pūnctuātiōn- (stem of pūnctuātiō ) “a marking, pointing”; punctuate, -ion

Example Sentences

Cinnamon sugar on top adds crunch, a tactile punctuation mark that makes every bite feel deliberate.

From Salon

Because more than any other punctuation mark, the em dash is deeply human.

From The Wall Street Journal

Most of the questions, which cover topics like spelling, grammar, punctuation and maths are in multiple choice format.

From BBC

His dog, Jesus, a striking black-and-white pit bull, followed him everywhere, tail wagging like a punctuation mark.

From Los Angeles Times

And a bit of lemon zest—the punctuation mark that makes everything else sing.

From Salon