punctuate

/ˈpʰʌŋktjuːeɪt/

//ˈpʰʌŋktjuːeɪt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"punctuate" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“punctuate” is uncommon English (frequency #63,911 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,911
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To add punctuation to.

Corpus desk

Index EN-punctuate · punctuate · English

punctuate · rank #63,911 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #63,911
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH punky

Nearest frequency peer: punky (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “punctuate”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “punctuate” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for punctuate
PropertyValue
Headwordpunctuate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈpʰʌŋktjuːeɪt/
Letters9
Frequency rank#63,911
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “punctuate” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).punctuatefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “punky” (#63,912), “Prolog” (#63,908), “prissy” (#63,907). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “punctuate” is #63,911. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

punctuate is uncommon English at frequency #63,911 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈpʰʌŋktjuːeɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

punctuate doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Medieval Latin pūnctuātus, perfect passive participle of pūnctuō (“to mark with points”), from Medieval Latin pūnctus (“a point, dot”), from pungō (“to prick, punch”); see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix). Doublet… The correct English form is punctuate, spelled P-U-N-C-T-U-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To add punctuation to.
  2. 2
    To add or to interrupt at regular intervals.
  3. 3
    To emphasize; to stress.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how punctuate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. That occurrence of "its" needs to be punctuated as "it's".
  2. My father punctuated his tirade with thumps on the desk.

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin pūnctuātus, perfect passive participle of pūnctuō (“to mark with points”), from Medieval Latin pūnctus (“a point, dot”), from pungō (“to prick, punch”); see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix). Doublet of punch.

This word in other languages

puntuar(Español)ponctuer(Français)interpunktieren(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "punctuate"?
"punctuate" is spelled P-U-N-C-T-U-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpʰʌŋktjuːeɪt/.
What does "punctuate" mean?
As a verb, "punctuate" means: To add punctuation to.
How do you pronounce "punctuate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "punctuate" is /ˈpʰʌŋktjuːeɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "punctuate"?
Borrowed from Medieval Latin pūnctuātus, perfect passive participle of pūnctuō (“to mark with points”), from Medieval Latin pūnctus (“a point, dot”), from pungō (“to prick, punch”); see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "punctuate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

playgroup#63,896pitifully#63,893pennywise#63,881ostracism#63,861

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list