punctuation

/ˈpʌŋ(k)tʃəˌweɪʃən/

/pəŋktʃuˈeɪʃɛn/

Other forms: punctuations

Punctuation is marking that clarifies sentences. if you write a sentence that is a string of words even if theyre good words but you do it without punctuation then it will look like this making your reader unhappy

Punctuation tells you when a sentence has come to an end, or if it's a question, and you can't write a sentence without at least one punctuation mark: the period. You can also use punctuation to talk about non-verbal emphasis. If you tell your dog to stop chewing your shoe, you might stamp your foot as punctuation. A slow speaker who chews slightly at the end of each sentence has an unfortunate kind of punctuation.

Definitions of punctuation

1. noun

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

   hyphenation

   connecting syllables and words by hyphens

   type of:

   grouping

   the activity of putting things together in groups
2. noun

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

   types:

   ampersand

   a punctuation mark (&) used to represent conjunction (and)

   apostrophe

   the mark (') used to indicate the omission of one or more letters from a printed word

   brace

   either of two punctuation marks ({ or }) used to enclose textual material

   bracket, square bracket

   either of two punctuation marks ([ or ]) used to enclose textual material

   angle bracket, bracket

   either of two punctuation marks ('<' or '>') used in computer programming and sometimes used to enclose textual material

   colon

   a punctuation mark (:) used after a word introducing a series or an example or an explanation (or after the salutation of a business letter)

   comma

   a punctuation mark (,) used to indicate the separation of elements within the grammatical structure of a sentence

   exclamation mark, exclamation point

   a punctuation mark (!) used to indicate emotion

   dash, hyphen

   a punctuation mark (-) used between parts of a compound word or between the syllables of a word when the word is divided at the end of a line of text

   parenthesis

   either of two punctuation marks ( or ) used to enclose textual material

   full point, full stop, period, point, stop

   a punctuation mark (.) placed at the end of a declarative sentence to indicate a full stop or after abbreviations

   interrogation point, question mark

   a punctuation mark (?) at the end of a sentence that is asking something

   inverted comma, quotation mark, quote

   a punctuation mark used to attribute the enclosed text to someone else

   semicolon

   a punctuation mark (`;') used to connect independent clauses; indicates a closer relation than does a period

   diagonal, separatrix, slash, solidus, stroke, virgule

   a punctuation mark (/) used to separate related items of information such as words, lines of text, or numbers

   swung dash

   a punctuation mark (~) used to replace a word in text or lists

   ellipsis

   a mark or marks, such as three dots, indicating that words have been omitted

   suspension point

   (usually plural) one of a series of points indicating that something has been omitted or that the sentence is incomplete

   single quote

   a single quotation mark

   double quotes

   a pair of quotation marks

   scare quote

   the use of quotation marks to indicate that it is not the authors preferred terminology

   type of:

   mark

   a written or printed symbol (as for punctuation)
3. noun

   something that makes repeated and regular interruptions or divisions
   type of:

   break

   some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity