EXCLAMATION POINT Definition & Meaning

exclamation point

the sign (!) used in writing after an exclamation.
this mark sometimes used in writing two or more times in succession to indicate intensity of emotion, loudness, etc.:
Long live the Queen!!
this mark sometimes used without accompanying words in writing direct discourse to indicate a speaker's dumbfounded astonishment:
“His wife just gave birth to quintuplets.”(!)

exclamation point

A punctuation mark (!) used after an abrupt and emphatic statement or after a command: “‘Help!’ he cried, as his boat floated toward the edge of Niagara Falls .”

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First recorded in 1860–65

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