Definitions for punctuation
ˌpʌŋk tʃuˈeɪ ʃənpunc·tu·a·tion

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.5 / 2 votes

1. punctuationnoun

   something that makes repeated and regular interruptions or divisions

2. punctuation, punctuation marknoun

   the marks used to clarify meaning by indicating separation of words into sentences and clauses and phrases

3. punctuationnoun

   the use of certain marks to clarify meaning of written material by grouping words grammatically into sentences and clauses and phrases

WiktionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. punctuationnoun

   A set of symbols and marks which are used to clarify meaning in text by separating strings of words into clauses, phrases and sentences.

2. Etymology: From punctuatio, from punctuare; see punctuate.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Punctuationnoun

   The act or method of pointing.

   Etymology: punctum, Lat.

   It ought to do it willingly, without being forced to it by any change in the words or punctuation. Addison.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Punctuation

   Punctuation (or sometimes interpunction) is the use of spacing, conventional signs (called punctuation marks), and certain typographical devices as aids to the understanding and correct reading of written text, whether read silently or aloud. Another description is, "It is the practice, action, or system of inserting points or other small marks into texts in order to aid interpretation; division of text into sentences, clauses, etc., by means of such marks."In written English, punctuation is vital to disambiguate the meaning of sentences. For example: "woman, without her man, is nothing" (emphasizing the importance of men to women), and "woman: without her, man is nothing" (emphasizing the importance of women to men) have very different meanings; as do "eats shoots and leaves" (which means the subject consumes plant growths) and "eats, shoots, and leaves" (which means the subject eats first, then fires a weapon, and then leaves the scene). The sharp differences in meaning are produced by the simple differences in punctuation within the example pairs, especially the latter. The rules of punctuation vary with language, location, register, and time and are constantly evolving. Certain aspects of punctuation are stylistic and are thus the author's (or editor's) choice, or tachygraphic (shorthand) language forms, such as those used in online chat and text messages.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. punctuation

   Punctuation refers to the symbols or marks used in written language to clarify the meaning by separating words into sentences, clauses, and phrases. It includes symbols such as periods, commas, question marks, exclamation marks, quotation marks, semicolons, colons, brackets, dashes, and more. These aids in expressing the tone, rhythm, emphasis, and structure in written text.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Punctuationnoun

   the act or art of punctuating or pointing a writing or discourse; the art or mode of dividing literary composition into sentences, and members of a sentence, by means of points, so as to elucidate the author's meaning

2. Etymology: [Cf. F. ponctuation.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Punctuation

   Punctuation marks are symbols that indicate the structure and organization of written language, as well as intonation and pauses to be observed when reading aloud. In written English, punctuation is vital to disambiguate the meaning of sentences. For example, "woman, without her man, is nothing" and "woman: without her, man is nothing" have greatly different meanings, as do "eats shoots and leaves" and "eats, shoots and leaves". The rules of punctuation vary with language, location, register and time and are constantly evolving. Certain aspects of punctuation are stylistic and are thus the author's choice. Tachygraphic language forms, such as those used in online chat and text messages, may have wildly different rules. For English usage, see the articles on specific punctuation marks.

Matched Categories

1. • Grouping
   • Interruption

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

1. [["1579","7"],["1592","1"],["1593","1"],["1595","2"],["1598","2"],["1607","1"],["1620","3"],["1624","1"],["1626","1"],["1628","1"],["1635","3"],["1636","2"],["1637","2"],["1643","11"],["1647","2"],["1651","2"],["1652","1"],["1662","1"],["1673","1"],["1683","4"],["1684","2"],["1686","2"],["1689","1"],["1692","2"],["1693","1"],["1699","2"],["1702","2"],["1705","1"],["1706","6"],["1708","1"],["1711","4"],["1713","1"],["1715","1"],["1716","1"],["1717","3"],["1721","1"],["1722","2"],["1724","3"],["1725","2"],["1726","1"],["1728","3"],["1730","13"],["1731","3"],["1734","1"],["1736","2"],["1738","1"],["1739","1"],["1742","1"],["1743","3"],["1744","1"],["1747","5"],["1749","1"],["1750","13"],["1752","2"],["1753","2"],["1755","1"],["1756","1"],["1757","2"],["1759","5"],["1760","1"],["1762","11"],["1763","8"],["1765","15"],["1766","10"],["1768","8"],["1769","1"],["1770","4"],["1771","3"],["1772","4"],["1773","7"],["1774","15"],["1775","34"],["1776","20"],["1777","5"],["1778","48"],["1780","5"],["1781","117"],["1782","10"],["1783","21"],["1784","4"],["1785","106"],["1786","3"],["1787","61"],["1788","31"],["1789","26"],["1790","16"],["1791","11"],["1792","38"],["1793","25"],["1794","20"],["1795","13"],["1796","23"],["1797","16"],["1798","39"],["1799","61"],["1800","20"],["1801","98"],["1802","50"],["1803","66"],["1804","72"],["1805","115"],["1806","114"],["1807","99"],["1808","72"],["1809","171"],["1810","220"],["1811","181"],["1812","111"],["1813","84"],["1814","94"],["1815","126"],["1816","182"],["1817","140"],["1818","98"],["1819","182"],["1820","257"],["1821","550"],["1822","166"],["1823","387"],["1824","222"],["1825","371"],["1826","259"],["1827","301"],["1828","242"],["1829","266"],["1830","175"],["1831","122"],["1832","153"],["1833","279"],["1834","192"],["1835","238"],["1836","229"],["1837","282"],["1838","232"],["1839","372"],["1840","142"],["1841","253"],["1842","250"],["1843","300"],["1844","271"],["1845","341"],["1846","346"],["1847","266"],["1848","270"],["1849","693"],["1850","572"],["1851","310"],["1852","425"],["1853","936"],["1854","683"],["1855","484"],["1856","499"],["1857","611"],["1858","352"],["1859","506"],["1860","527"],["1861","357"],["1862","376"],["1863","345"],["1864","416"],["1865","526"],["1866","477"],["1867","495"],["1868","584"],["1869","511"],["1870","411"],["1871","668"],["1872","531"],["1873","490"],["1874","598"],["1875","740"],["1876","918"],["1877","640"],["1878","1293"],["1879","714"],["1880","1139"],["1881","1003"],["1882","774"],["1883","1253"],["1884","999"],["1885","850"],["1886","1282"],["1887","896"],["1888","981"],["1889","1548"],["1890","984"],["1891","1712"],["1892","1317"],["1893","1894"],["1894","1348"],["1895","1209"],["1896","1631"],["1897","2007"],["1898","1454"],["1899","2292"],["1900","2260"],["1901","2819"],["1902","3702"],["1903","2195"],["1904","2205"],["1905","2252"],["1906","2340"],["1907","2840"],["1908","2781"],["1909","2856"],["1910","2285"],["1911","2469"],["1912","2812"],["1913","3124"],["1914","3163"],["1915","2940"],["1916","2997"],["1917","3164"],["1918","2490"],["1919","2794"],["1920","3246"],["1921","3690"],["1922","4055"],["1923","3079"],["1924","2613"],["1925","2942"],["1926","3570"],["1927","2661"],["1928","3342"],["1929","2821"],["1930","3376"],["1931","3454"],["1932","2936"],["1933","2294"],["1934","3265"],["1935","4100"],["1936","3482"],["1937","3312"],["1938","3111"],["1939","4020"],["1940","3695"],["1941","3890"],["1942","2711"],["1943","2569"],["1944","2466"],["1945","2294"],["1946","2771"],["1947","3722"],["1948","5336"],["1949","5305"],["1950","4807"],["1951","4436"],["1952","5948"],["1953","4141"],["1954","4491"],["1955","6481"],["1956","6662"],["1957","5192"],["1958","5905"],["1959","5745"],["1960","6555"],["1961","6619"],["1962","7131"],["1963","8556"],["1964","8494"],["1965","9336"],["1966","10022"],["1967","9973"],["1968","9887"],["1969","9637"],["1970","10943"],["1971","9214"],["1972","10332"],["1973","9414"],["1974","9855"],["1975","8676"],["1976","10415"],["1977","12527"],["1978","10558"],["1979","11180"],["1980","12359"],["1981","13718"],["1982","15954"],["1983","16449"],["1984","15298"],["1985","16508"],["1986","19273"],["1987","20107"],["1988","20753"],["1989","19491"],["1990","23561"],["1991","22177"],["1992","22722"],["1993","24219"],["1994","25819"],["1995","27321"],["1996","30062"],["1997","29056"],["1998","32208"],["1999","31339"],["2000","35124"],["2001","36150"],["2002","40864"],["2003","40145"],["2004","43426"],["2005","42945"],["2006","40653"],["2007","40292"],["2008","45388"]]

How to pronounce punctuation?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say punctuation in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of punctuation in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of punctuation in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of punctuation in a Sentence

1. Julie Burchill:

   Tears are sometimes an inappropriate response to death. When a life has been lived completely honestly, completely successfully, or just completely, the correct response to death's perfect punctuation mark is a smile.

2. Jill Marangoni:

   Their written language is really taking a hit right now, fifth graders that were strong writers in school, who would never have turned in anything without editing it first -- you see what the work they're turning in. It's missing capitals, it's missing punctuation, run on sentences -- just lacking that quality that they had at school and that they just don't have now.

3. Sharon Burke:

   It's a really important punctuation mark on what he's saying is a top priority for him, it's the ultimate legacy issue because it is something that's going to affect so many generations of Americans.

4. Tom Waits:

   I’ve always been a word guy, I like weird words and I like American slang and all that and words that are no longer being used… I like to drag them out of the box and wave them around… this is an interesting one, it’s amazing how in addition to punctuation just a little pause in the wrong place can just completely transform the meaning of something.

5. Alan Rickman:

   It was a punctuation mark in my life every year, because I would be doing other things but always come back to that, and I was always aware of my place in the story even as others around me were not.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=punctuation
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Punctuation
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=punctuation
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punctuation
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/punctuation
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=punctuation
8. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=punctuation