From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpunctuatepunc‧tu‧ate /ˈpʌŋktʃueɪt/ verb 1 [transitive]SLG to divide written work into sentences, phrases etc using commas, full stops etc2 [transitive]INTERRUPT literary to interrupt something, especially when this is repeated The silence was occasionally punctuated by laughter.Grammar Punctuate is usually passive in this meaning.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
punctuate• Danoff's resignation punctuated a decade of tremendous change at the museum.• Clare had led Carolyn along endless humming corridors, whose walls were punctuated by closed doors.• The path turned inland and met the road to Sandweg which cut through arable land, punctuated by low, brooding barns.• An air of helplessness and despair spread about, punctuated by stirrings of an uglier mood.• Periods of punctuated equilibrium are equally visible in human history.• As Carol Jackson moved about in the kitchen she could hear the steady burble of conversation, punctuated every so often by a laugh.• President Nixon punctuated his Watergate tapes with obscenities.Origin punctuate (1600-1700) Medieval Latin past participle of punctuare, from Latin punctum; → POINT1 