exclamation point
The mark that ends a sentence spoken with strong feeling or force. It is also called an exclamation mark.
An exclamation point ends an exclamation, a sentence or fragment that expresses surprise, alarm, delight, or another strong feeling: We won the championship! It also ends a command given with urgency: Watch out! A sentence worded as a question that expresses feeling rather than asking for an answer also takes an exclamation point: How could you forget my birthday! Careful English uses a single exclamation point: Thank you so much! Stacked marks, as in Thank you so much!!!, belong only to informal writing. Each use of the exclamation point has its own entry, listed under Exclamation Point.
Examples
UseThe house is on fire! (The sentence expresses alarm.)
UseStop the car! (The command is urgent, so it takes an exclamation point rather than a period.)
UseWhat a beautiful morning! (The sentence expresses delight and asks nothing, so it ends with an exclamation point.)
AvoidCongratulations on the new job!!! (A single exclamation point carries the feeling. The extra marks belong only to informal writing.)