exclamation point

American  

noun

1. the sign (!) used in writing after an exclamation.

2. this mark sometimes used in writing two or more times in succession to indicate intensity of emotion, loudness, etc..

   Long live the Queen!!

3. 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 Cultural  

1. 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.”

---

Etymology

Origin of exclamation point

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

They paired for an exclamation point on the win when Doncic tossed up a pass for Hayes to slam down with two hands to put the Lakers up by 14 with 1:52 remaining.

From Los Angeles Times

This weekend’s storm marked the exclamation point on a week of wet weather that helped dampen fire danger and boost water supplies across the state, but also brought dangers.

From Los Angeles Times

A driving, two-handed dunk was the exclamation point, stunning the Charlotte crowd as he hung on the rim and screamed.

From Los Angeles Times

I guess the three exclamation points drive home the drivel.

From Salon

In the process, he put an exclamation point on one of the most improbable—and jaw-dropping—ascensions from farmhand to stardom in baseball history.

From The Wall Street Journal