Staccato is a form of musical articulation. Wikipedia

Form of musical articulation, signifying an unconnected note. Wikipedia Disambiguation

An articulation marking directing that a note or passage of notes are to be played in an abruptly disconnected manner, with each note sounding for a very short duration, and a short break lasting until the sounding of the next note; as opposed to legato. Staccato is indicated by a dot directly above or below the notehead. Wiktionary