punc ‧ tu ‧ ate /ˈpʌŋktʃueɪt/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: Medieval Latin ; Origin: past participle of punctuare , from Latin punctum ; ⇨ ↑ point 1 ]
1 . [transitive] to divide written work into sentences, phrases etc using ↑ comma s , ↑ full stop s etc
2 . [transitive usually passive] literary to be interrupted by something, especially when this is repeated:
The silence was occasionally punctuated by laughter.