Point definition
A sharp or tapered end.
The point of a knife; the point of the antenna.
noun
A decimal point.
noun
A tapering extension of land projecting into water; a peninsula, cape, or promontory.
noun
One of the protruding marks used in certain methods of writing and printing for the blind.
noun
(linguistics) A vowel point.
noun
Advertisement
To direct or aim.
Point a weapon.
verb
Needlepoint lace.
noun
Point is defined as to gesture in the direction of someone or something.
An example of point is for a child to aim his finger toward a rainbow with excitement.
verb
To mark (text) with points; punctuate.
verb
A mark or dot used in printing or writing for punctuation, especially a period.
noun
Advertisement
A specified degree, condition, or limit, as in a scale or course.
The melting point of a substance.
noun
The definition of a point is a sharp end or part of an argument.
An example of point is the end of a pencil.
An example of point is a reason why someone is against abortion.
noun
(printing) A unit of type size equal to 0.01384 inch, or approximately172 of an inch.
noun
A ribbon or cord with a metal tag at the end, used to fasten clothing in the 16th and 17th centuries.
noun
An object having a sharp or tapered end.
A stone projectile point.
noun
Advertisement
A mark formed by or as if by a sharp end.
noun
An objective or purpose to be reached or achieved, or one that is worth reaching or achieving.
What is the point of discussing this issue further?
noun
The major idea or essential part of a concept or narrative.
You have missed the whole point of the novel.
noun
A quality or characteristic that is important or distinctive, especially a standard characteristic used to judge an animal.
noun
(music) A phrase, such as a fugue subject, in contrapuntal music.
noun
Advertisement
A specific moment in time.
At this point, we are ready to proceed.
noun
A jeweler's unit of weight equal to 2 milligrams or 0.01 carat.
noun
The extremities of an animal, such as a cat or horse, especially when they differ in color from the rest of the coat.
noun
A narrowly particularized and localized position or place; a spot.
The troops halted at a point roughly 1,000 yards from the river.
noun
The interval of 11°15' between any two adjacent markings.
noun
Advertisement
A distinct condition or degree.
Finally reached the point of exhaustion.
noun
The interval of time immediately before a given occurrence; the verge.
On the point of resignation; at the point of death.
noun
One percent of the total principal of a loan, paid up front to the lender and considered separately from the interest.
noun
A dimensionless geometric object having no properties except location.
noun
An element in a geometrically described set.
noun
Advertisement
A place or locality considered with regard to its position.
Connections to Chicago and points west.
noun
Any of the 32 equal divisions marked at the circumference of a mariner's compass card that indicate direction.
noun
A unit of academic credit usually equal to one hour of class work per week during one semester.
noun
A numerical unit of academic achievement equal to a letter grade.
noun
A unit equal to one dollar, used to quote or state variations in the current prices of stocks or commodities.
noun
Advertisement
A unit equal to one percent, used to quote or state interest rates or shares in gross profits.
noun
The act or an instance of pointing.
noun
The stiff and attentive stance taken by a hunting dog.
noun
A reconnaissance or patrol unit that moves ahead of an advance party or guard, or that follows a rear guard.
noun
The position occupied by such a unit or guard.
A team of Rangers were walking point at the outset of the operation.
noun
Advertisement
Either of two positions in ice hockey just inside the offensive zone near the boards, usually assumed by defenders attempting to keep the puck in the offensive zone.
noun
(basketball) A position in the forecourt beyond the top of the key, usually taken by the point guard.
noun
In women's lacrosse, a defensive player who marks the opponent playing nearest to the goal (the first home).
noun
An electrical contact, especially one in the distributor of an automobile engine.
noun
(chiefly british) An electrical socket or outlet.
noun
Advertisement
A movable rail, tapered at the end, such as that used in a railroad switch.
noun
The vertex of the angle created by the intersection of rails in a frog or switch.
noun
(linguistics) To mark (a consonant) with a vowel point.
verb
To give emphasis to; stress.
Comments that simply point up flawed reasoning.
verb
To indicate the presence and position of (game) by standing immobile and directing the muzzle toward it. Used of a hunting dog.
verb
Advertisement
To fill and finish the joints of (masonry) with cement or mortar.
verb
To direct attention or indicate position with or as if with the finger.
verb
To turn the mind or thought in a particular direction or to a particular conclusion.
All indications point to an early spring.
verb
(nautical) To sail close to the wind.
verb
A minute mark or dot.
noun
A dot in printing or writing, as a period, decimal point, vowel point, etc.
noun
A particular time; exact moment.
The point of death.
noun
A stage, condition, level, or degree reached or indicated.
A boiling point.
noun
A particular detail or element; item.
To explain a problem point by point.
noun
Any of various units used in awarding credit, scoring games, measuring value, etc.
- A penalty unit assessed drivers in a.
- (tennis, etc.) The service and play leading to a scored point.After a let, players must replay the point.
- (anthrop.) A stone, piece of flint, etc. worked manually to a sharp point, as for an arrowhead or spearhead.
noun
A projecting or tapering piece of land; promontory; cape.
noun
A branch of a deer's antler.
A ten-point buck.
noun
A purpose; aim; object; use.
No point in complaining.
noun
The posture of a hunting dog to show the presence and position of game.
noun
A unit used in rationing commodities, as in time of war.
noun
A jeweler's unit of weight, equal to1100 carat.
A 10-point diamond.
noun
(historical) A cord with metal tips, used to lace up articles of clothing.
noun
(backgammon) Any of the 24 triangular spaces on the board.
noun
(ballet) The position of being on the tips of the toes.
noun
(boxing) One of a number of scoring units awarded to the boxers at the end of each round, used in determining the winner if the fight does not end by knockout or disqualification.
To win on points.
noun
(craps) The number that the thrower must roll again before rolling a seven in order to win.
noun
(educ.) A unit used in grading school or college work and figuring a student's academic average.
A grade of A is worth four points per credit.
noun
(heraldry) Any of certain areas on a shield.
noun
(mil.) A small party before an advance guard or behind a rear guard.
noun
(printing) A measuring unit for type bodies and printed matter, equal to about172 of an inch: there are 12 points in a pica.
noun
An element in geometry having definite position, but no size, shape, or extension.
A line between two points.
noun
A particular or precisely specified position, location, place, or spot.
Points on an itinerary.
noun
Any of certain positions where a player is stationed in cricket, lacrosse, and other games.
noun
The player at such a position.
noun
A distinguishing feature; characteristic.
noun
A physical characteristic or quality of an animal, used as a standard in judging breeding.
noun
A sharp or projecting end of something; tip.
noun
Something with a sharp end.
noun
The extremities of an animal, esp. a horse, dog, or cat.
noun
The coloration of an animal's extremities in contrast to the rest of the coat.
noun
The exact or essential fact or idea under consideration.
noun
The main idea, striking feature, or effective twist of a joke, story, etc.
noun
An impressive or telling argument, fact, or idea.
He has a point there.
noun
A helpful hint or suggestion.
noun
Either of the two contacts, tipped with tungsten or platinum, that make or break the circuit in some distributors.
noun
(brit.) An electrical outlet.
noun
A standard unit of value used in quoting changes in the prices of stocks, bonds, etc.; specif., a $1 change in the price of a stock.
noun
A unit equal to one percent.
A two-point rise in interest rates.
noun
An amount equal to one percent; specif., an amount equal to one percent of a loan secured by a mortgage: one or more points may be paid in advance by the borrower.
noun
Any of the 32 marks showing direction on the circumference of a compass card.
noun
Any of the corresponding positions on the horizon.
noun
The angle between two successive compass points, equal to 1114°
noun
To sharpen to a point, as a pencil.
verb
To give (a story, remark, anecdote, action, etc.) extra force or special emphasis, as by repetition or elaboration.
verb
To show or call attention to.
To point the way, to point out a person's shortcomings.
verb
To aim or direct (a gun, finger, etc.)
verb
To extend the foot so as to bring (the toe) more nearly in line with the leg.
verb
To show the presence and location of (game) by standing still and facing toward it.
verb
(masonry) To fill or refill and finish the joints of (brickwork or stonework) with mortar.
To point up a chimney.
verb
To put punctuation marks or pauses in.
verb
To put vowel points on (Hebrew characters)
verb
To mark off (sums or numbers) with points, as esp. a decimal fraction from a whole number.
verb
To direct one's finger or the like (at or to something)
verb
To call attention or allude (to something); hint (at something)
verb
To aim or be directed (to or toward something); extend in a specified direction.
Stock futures point higher.
verb
To point game.
verb
(naut.) To sail close to the wind.
verb
A sharp or tapered end.
noun
A place or locality considered with regard to its position.
noun
A stage or condition reached.
noun
To direct or aim something.
verb
To direct attention with the finger.
verb
To become ready to open, as an abscess or boil.
verb
A geometric object having no dimensions and no property other than its location. The intersection of two lines is a point.
A finance charge that is paid up front on mortgages by the borrower. A point is 1 percent of the loan value. For instance, on a $200,000 mortgage, $2,000 is the point the borrower would pay as a finance charge. Points are tax deductible because the money paid is mortgage interest. However, points likely may have to be deducted across the life of the loan.
A discrete division of something.
- The Congress debated the finer points of the bill.
- There comes a point in a marathon when some people give up.At this point in the meeting, I'd like to propose a new item for the agenda.
- She was not feeling in good point.
- A topic of discussion or debate; a proposition, a focus of conversation or consideration. [from 14th c.]I made the point that we all had an interest to protect.
noun
A specific location or place, seen as a spatial position. [from 14th c.]
We should meet at a pre-arranged point.
noun
(mathematics, sciences) A zero-dimensional mathematical object representing a location in one or more dimensions; something considered to have position but no magnitude or direction. [from 14th c.]
noun
A full stop or other terminal punctuation mark. [from 14th c.]
noun
(music) A dot or mark used to designate certain tones or time. In ancient music, it distinguished or characterized certain tones or styles (points of perfection, of augmentation, etc.). In modern music, it is placed on the right of a note to raise its value, or prolong its time, by one half.
noun
Something tiny, as a pinprick; a very small mark. [from 15th c.]
The stars showed as tiny points of yellow light.
noun
The one with the most points will win the game.
noun
(mathematics) A decimal point (now especially when reading decimal fractions aloud). [from 18th c.]
10.5 ("ten point five"; = ten and a half)
noun
A sharp extremity.
- Cut the skin with the point of the knife.
- Any projecting extremity of an object. [from 14th c.]
- An object which has a sharp or tapering tip. [from 14th c.]His cowboy belt was studded with points.
- (backgammon) Each of the twelve triangular positions in either table of a backgammon board, on which the stones are played. [from 15th c.]
- A peninsula or promontory. [from 15th c.]
- The position at the front or vanguard of an advancing force. [from 16th c.]
- Each of the main directions on a compass, usually considered to be 32 in number; a direction. [from 16th c.]
- (nautical) The difference between two points of the compass.To fall off a point.
- Pointedness of speech or writing; a penetrating or decisive quality of expression. [from 17th c.]
- (rail transport, UK, in the plural) A railroad switch. [from 19th c.]
- (usually in the plural) An area of contrasting colour on an animal, especially a dog; a marking. [from 19th c.]The point color of that cat was a deep, rich sable.
- Tierce point.
noun
(historical) A string or lace used to tie together certain garments.
noun
Lace worked by the needle.
Point de Venise; Brussels point.
noun
(US, slang, dated) An item of private information; a hint; a tip; a pointer.
noun
(intransitive) To extend the index finger in the direction of something in order to show where it is or to draw attention to it.
It's rude to point at other people.
verb
(intransitive) To draw attention to something or indicate a direction.
The arrow of a compass points north.
The skis were pointing uphill.
The arrow on the map points towards the entrance.
verb
To direct toward an object; to aim.
To point a gun at a wolf, or a cannon at a fort.
verb
To give a point to; to sharpen; to cut, forge, grind, or file to an acute end.
To point a dart, a pencil, or (figuratively) a moral.
verb
(masonry) To fill up and finish the joints of (a wall), by introducing additional cement or mortar, and bringing it to a smooth surface.
verb
(stone-cutting) To cut, as a surface, with a pointed tool.
verb
(mathematics) To separate an integer from a decimal with a decimal point.
verb
(computing) To direct the central processing unit to seek information at a certain location in memory.
verb
(Internet) To direct requests sent to a domain name to the IP address corresponding to that domain name.
verb
(intransitive, nautical) To sail close to the wind.
Bear off a little, we're pointing.
verb
(intransitive, hunting) To indicate the presence of game by a fixed and steady look, as certain hunting dogs do.
verb
(dated) To give particular prominence to; to designate in a special manner; to point out.
verb
A significant, outstanding, or effective idea, argument, or suggestion.
Your point is well taken.
noun
A separate, distinguishing item or element; a detail.
Diplomacy is certainly not one of his strong points. Your weak point is your constant need for approval.
noun
A single unit, as in counting, rating, or measuring.
noun
(sports & games) A unit of scoring or counting.
noun
To bring (something) to notice.
Pointed out an error in their reasoning.
verb
To indicate the position or direction of.
Pointed out the oldest buildings on the skyline.
verb
To sharpen (a pencil, for example); provide with a point.
verb
To separate with decimal points.
Pointing off the hundredths place in a column of figures.
verb
To be turned or faced in a given direction; aim.
verb
To indicate the presence and position of game. Used of a hunting dog.
verb
beside the point
- Irrelevant to the matter at hand.
idiom
in point
- Having relevance or pertinence.
idiom
in point of
- With reference to; in the matter of:In point of fact, I never lived at the address stated on the form.
idiom
make a point of
- To consider or treat (an action or activity) as indispensable:Made a point of visiting their niece on the way home.
idiom
stretch a point
- To make an exception.
idiom
to the point
- Concerning or with relevance to the matter at hand:Remarks that were to the point; rambled and would not speak to the point.
idiom
at the point of
- very close to; on the verge of
idiom
beside the point
- not pertinent; irrelevant
idiom
case in point
- a pertinent example
idiom
in point of
- in the matter of; as concernsin point of fact.
idiom
make a point of
- to make (something) one's strict rule, habit, or practice
- to call special attention to
idiom
on the point of
- almost in the act of; on the verge of
idiom
stretch a point
- to make an exception or concession
idiom
up to a point
- within limits; somewhat but not entirelyI trust him … to a point.
idiom
to the point
- pertinent; apt
idiom
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
make a point of
at the point of
make a point of
Origin of point
- Middle English partly from Old French point prick, mark, moment (from Vulgar Latin punctum) (from Latin pūnctum) (from neuter past participle of pungere to prick) and partly from Old French pointe sharp end (from Vulgar Latin puncta) (from Latin pūncta) (from) (feminine past participle of pungere to prick peuk- in Indo-European roots)
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Middle English point, from Old French point (“a point, dot, full stop, period, speck, hole, stitch, point of time, moment, difficulty, etc."), from Latin punctum (“a point, puncture"), prop. a hole punched in, substantive use of punctus, perfect passive participle of pungō (“I prick, punch"). Displaced native Middle English ord (“point"), from Old English ord (“point").
From Wiktionary