point

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See also:Point

English

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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FromMiddle Englishpoynt,fromOld Frenchpointm(“dot; minute amount”),fromLatinpūnctum(“a hole punched in; a point, puncture”),substantive use ofpūnctusm,perfect passive participle ofpungō(“I prick, punch”)(ultimately fromProto-Indo-European*pewǵ-(“prick, punch”)); alternatively, fromOld Frenchpointef(“sharp tip”),fromLatinpūnctaf(past participle).Displaced nativeMiddle Englishord(“point”),fromOld Englishord(“point”).Doubletofpointe,punctum,punt,andpunto.

Noun

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point(pluralpoints)

  1. Asmalldotormark.
    1. Something tiny, as a pinprick; a very small mark.[from 15th c.]
      The stars showed as tinypointsof yellow light.
    2. Afull stopor other terminal punctuation mark.[from 14th c.]
      • 1735,Alexander Pope,The Prologue to the Satires:
        Commas andpointsthey set exactly right.
    3. (mathematics)Adecimal point(now especially when reading decimal fractions aloud).[from 18th c.]
      10.5 is "tenpointfive ", or ten and a half.
    4. Each of themarksorstrokeswritten aboveletters,especially in Semitic languages, to indicatevowels,stress etc.[from 17th c.]
    5. (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.
    6. (by extension)Anote;atune.
    7. (mathematics,sciences)Azero-dimensionalmathematicalobjectrepresenting a location in one or more dimensions; something considered to have position but no magnitude or direction.[from 14th c.]
  2. Asmalldiscretedivisionorindividualfeatureof something.
    1. Anindividualelementin alargerwhole;a particulardetail,thought,orquality.[from 13th c.]
      The Congress debated the finerpointsof the bill.
    2. A particularmomentin aneventor occurrence; ajuncture.[from 13th c.]
      There comes apointin a marathon when some people give up.
      At thispointin the meeting, I'd like to propose a new item for the agenda.
    3. (archaic)Condition,state.[from 13th c.]
      She was not feeling in goodpoint.
    4. Atopicofdiscussionordebate;aproposition.[from 14th c.]
      I made thepointthat we all had an interest to protect.
    5. (US,slang,dated)An item of private information; a hint; a tip; a pointer.
    6. Afocusofconversationorconsideration;themainidea.
      Thepointis that we should stay together, whatever happens.
    7. Apurposeorobjective,which makes somethingmeaningful.[from 14th c.]
      Since the decision has already been made, I see littlepointin further discussion.
      • 1983October 31,Genesis,“That's All”,inGenesis‎[1]:
        But I love you / More than I wanted to / There's nopointin trying to pretend
      • 2023,“What's the Point in Life”, inKilljoy,performed byCoach Party:
        We're all gonna die
        What's thepointin life
        What's thepointin life if we all die?
    8. (obsolete)The smallest quantity of something; ajot,awhit.[14th–17th c.]
      • 1590,Edmund Spenser,The Faerie Queene,I.ii:
        full large of limbe and euery ioint / He was, and cared not for God or man apoint.
    9. (obsolete)A tiny amount of time; amoment.[14th–17th c.]
      • 1599,John Davies,“Of the Soule of Man and the Immortalitie Thereof”, inNosce Teipsum:
        When time's firstpointbegun / Made he all souls.
    10. A specificlocationor place, seen as a spatial position.[from 14th c.]
      We should meet at a pre-arrangedpoint.
    11. A distinguishingqualityorcharacteristic.[from 15th c.]
      Logic isn't my strongpoint.
    12. (in theplural,dated)The chief or excellent features.
      thepointsof a horse
      • 1931,Arnold Bennett,The Night Visitor and Other Stories,page290:
        Knowledge was always useful, and he had frequently heard the words 'Great Portland Street' on the lips of his son, who regularly perused all the twelve automobilistic papers, and who was apparently the most learned pundit and inclusive encyclopædia ever created on the subject of petrol-driven vehicles, their prices, and their innumerablepoints.
    13. (usually in theplural)An area of contrastingcolouron ananimal,especially a dog; a marking.[from 19th c.]
      Thepointcolor of that cat was a deep, rich sable.
    14. (now only in phrases)Atenth;formerly also atwelfth.[from 17th c.]
      Possession is ninepointsof the law.
    15. Short forpercentage point.
      • 2013,Louise Levison,Filmmakers and Financing: Business Plans for Independents,page67:
        We have yet to touch on the idea of stars and directors receiving grosspoints,which is a percentage of the studio's gross dollar (e.g., the $5.00 studio share of the total box office dollar in Table 4.1). Even if thepointsare paid on "first dollar," the reference is only to studio share.
    16. (sports,video games,board games)A unit ofscoringin agameorcompetition.[from 18th c.]
      The one with the mostpointswill win the game.
    17. (video games,board games)A unit of variousnumericalparametersused in a game, e.g.health,experience,stamina,mana.
      This attack deals 320pointsof damage.
      Defeating the boss grants 60 experiencepoints.
    18. (economics)A unit used to express differences in prices ofstocksandshares.[from 19th c.]
    19. (typography)a unit of measure equal to 1/12 of apica,or approximately 1/72 of aninch(exactly 1/72 of an inch in the digital era).[from 19th c.]
    20. (UK)An electricpowersocket.[from 20th c.]
    21. (navigation,nautical)Aunitofbearingequal to one thirty-second of acircle,i.e.11.25°.
      Ship ahoy, threepointsoff the starboard bow!
    22. (UK)Aunit of measureforrain,equal to 0.254 mm or 0.01 of aninch.
    23. (automotive,chiefly in theplural)Either of the two metal surfaces in adistributorwhich close or open to allow or prevent the flow of current through theignition coil.There is usually a moving point, pushed by the distributor cam, and a fixed point, and they are built together as a unit.
  3. Asharpextremity.
    1. The sharptipof anobject.[from 14th c.]
      Cut the skin with thepointof the knife.
    2. Any projecting extremity of an object.[from 14th c.]
    3. An object which has a sharp or tapering tip.[from 14th c.]
      His cowboy belt was studded withpoints.
      1. (archaeology)A spearhead or similar object hafted to a handle.
        • 2018,Tim Flannery,Europe: A Natural History:
          Solutreanpointsresemble the canines of the sabre-toothed cats.
      2. (medicine,obsolete)Avaccine point.
    4. (backgammon)Each of thetwelvetriangularpositions in eithertableof abackgammonboard,on which thestonesare played.[from 15th c.]
    5. Apeninsulaorpromontory.[from 15th c.]
    6. The position at the front or vanguard of an advancing force.[from 16th c.]
      • 2004,Martin Torgoff,Can't Find My Way Home[…],Simon & Schuster,→ISBN,page189:
        Willie Jones decided to become Kimani Jones, Black Panther, on the day his best friend, Otis Nicholson, stepped on a mine while walkingpointduring a sweep in the central highlands.
      1. (by extension)An operational or public leadership position in a risky endeavor.
        • 2013,Erik Schubach,Music of the Soul,volume 1:
          "When do we pull the trigger?" he asked. I was quick to respond, "If Tammy get's Mrs. Wellington to agree, she'll call you in a couple hours. Then just pull out all stops. Tammy haspointon this, I don't want to hear from you unless it's an all clear. "
        • 2018July 2, Paul Winfree, “Trump’s economic agenda is unfocused. Here’s how to fix it.”, inWashington Post:
          The president’s senior policy adviser, Stephen Miller, has beenpointon immigration policy.
        • 2020July 23, Gabe Lacques, “Dr.Anthony Faucithrows first pitch at Nationals-Yankees MLB opener”, inUSA TODAY:
          He captained Regis High School’s 1958 squad, but now runspointon infectious diseases.
        • 2020August 11, Michelle Karas, “Woodland Park School District plans for Aug. 25 reopening with multiple learning options”, inPikes Peak Courier:
          Instead of onepoint-person taking all the parents’ questions, WPSD has “put together coaches and ambassadors to handle calls so one person doesn’t have to handle 2,500 calls,” Woolf said.
      2. Short forpoint man.
    7. Each of the main directions on acompass,usually considered to be 32 in number; a direction.[from 16th c.]
    8. (nautical)The difference between two points of the compass.
      to fall off apoint
    9. Pointednessof speech or writing; a penetrating or decisive quality ofexpression.[from 17th c.]
      • 1897,Henry James,What Maisie Knew:
        There was moreover a hint of the duchess in the infinitepointwith which, as she felt, she exclaimed: "And this is what you call comingoften?"
      • 1913,Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln,chapter IV, inMr. Pratt’s Patients,New York, N.Y., London:D[aniel] Appleton and Company,→OCLC:
        I told him about everything I could think of; and what I couldn't think of he did. He asked about six questions during my yarn, but every question had apointto it. At the end he bowed and thanked me once more. As a thanker he was main-truck high; I never see anybody so polite.
    10. (rail transport,UK,in theplural)Arailroad switch.[from 19th c.]
    11. Atineorsnagof anantler.
    12. (heraldry)One of the "corners" of theescutcheon:thebase(bottom center) unless a qualifier is added (point dexter,point dexter base,point sinister,point sinister base), generally when separately tinctured.(Compareterrace,point champaine,enté en point.)
      This is sometimes blazonedargent, four points gules;otherwise, it isvêtu.
    13. (heraldry,by extension)An ordinary similar to apile(but sometimes shorter), extending upward from thebase.(Often termed apoint pointed.)
      • 1828,William Berry,Encyclopaedia Heraldica Or Complete Dictionary of Heraldry:
        Thepoint,according to Edmondson, (meaning the point pointed,) is an ordinary somewhat resembling the pile, issuing from the base, as in Plate VII. fig. 24, and is sometimes termed a base point pointed, but the word base is superfluous, as that is the proper place of the point;[…]
  4. The act ofpointing.
    1. The act of pointing, as of thefootdownwardin certaindancepositions.
    2. The gesture of extending the index finger in a direction in order to indicate something.
      • 2005,Marc Marschark, Patricia Elizabeth Spencer,Oxford handbook of deaf studies, language, and education:
        […]DCDP children are exposed to morepointsand gesturelike signs in their linguistic environment[…]
    3. The attitude assumed by apointerdogwhen he findsgame.
      The dog came to apoint.
    4. (falconry)Theperpendicularrising of ahawkover the place where itspreyhas gone into cover.
    5. (fencing)Amovementexecuted with thesabreorfoil.
      tiercepoint
  5. (nautical)A short piece ofcordageused inreefingsails.
  6. (historical)A string or lace used to tie together certain garments.
  7. Lace worked by the needle.
    pointde Venise; Brusselspoint
  8. In various sports, a position of a certain player, or, by extension, the player occupying that position.
    1. (cricket)Afieldingpositionsquareof thewicketon theoff side,betweengullyandcover.[from 19th c.]
    2. (lacrosse,ice hockey)The position of the player of each side who stands a short distance in front of thegoalkeeper.
    3. (baseball)The position of thepitcherandcatcher.
    4. (hunting)A spot to which a straight run is made; hence, a straight run from point to point; a cross-country run.
Synonyms
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Hyponyms
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Derived terms
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Terms derived frompoint(noun) without hyponyms
"Point" as a part of place names
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Descendants
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  • →Cantonese:point
  • →Indonesian:poin
  • →Japanese:ポイント(pointo)
  • →Korean:포인트(pointeu)
Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
See also
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References
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Etymology 2

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FromMiddle Englishpointen,poynten,fromOld Frenchpointier,pointer,poynter,[1]frompointfromLatinpūnctum.

Verb

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point(third-person singular simple presentpoints,present participlepointing,simple past and past participlepointed)

  1. (intransitive)To extend theindex fingerin the direction of something in order to show where it is or to draw attention to it.
    It's rude topointat other people.
  2. (intransitive)To draw attention to something or indicate a direction.
    The arrow of a compasspointsnorth
    The skis werepointinguphill.
    The arrow on the mappointstowards the entrance
    • 2013June 7,Ed Pilkington,“‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told”,inThe Guardian Weekly,volume188,number26,page 6:
      In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heynspointsto the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.
  3. (intransitive)To face in a particular direction.
  4. (transitive,sometimesfigurative)To direct toward an object; to aim.
    topointa gun at a wolf, or a cannon at a fort
    • 1853,Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons,Parliamentary Papers,volume11,page267:
      Mr. Fitzsimonspointedmy attention to an outside car on which was written, "Take warning," or something of that kind, and he pointed that out to me, and drew my attention to it, as a thing likely to intimidate[…]
  5. To give a point to; to sharpen; to cut, forge, grind, or file to an acute end.
    topointa dart, a pencil, or (figuratively) a moral
  6. (intransitive)Toindicatea probability of something.
    • 2011December 21, Helen Pidd, “Europeans migrate south as continent drifts deeper into crisis”,inthe Guardian:
      Tens of thousands of Portuguese, Greek and Irish people have left their homelands this year, many heading for the southern hemisphere. Anecdotal evidencepointsto the same happening in Spain and Italy.
  7. (transitive,intransitive,masonry)To repairmortar.
  8. (transitive,masonry)To fill up and finish the joints of (a wall), by introducing additional cement or mortar, and bringing it to a smooth surface.
  9. (stone-cutting)To cut, as a surface, with a pointed tool.
    • 2020May 20, Philip Haigh, “Ribblehead: at the heart of the S&C's survival and its revival: Ribblehead Viaduct repairs”, inRail,page27:
      Damaged stone will be removed, and the new stone installed andpointedto ensure a comprehensive match to maintain the integrity of the structure.
  10. (transitive)Todirectorencourage(someone) in a particular direction.
    If he asks for food,pointhim toward the refrigerator.
  11. (transitive,mathematics)To separate an integer from a decimal with adecimal point.
  12. (transitive)To mark withdiacritics.
  13. (dated)To supply withpunctuation marks;topunctuate.
    topointa composition
  14. (transitive,computing)To direct thecentral processing unitto seek information at a certain location inmemory.
  15. (transitive,Internet)To direct requests sent to adomain nameto theIP addresscorresponding to that domain name.
  16. (intransitive,nautical)To sail close to the wind.
    Bear off a little, we'repointing.
  17. (intransitive,hunting)To indicate the presence ofgameby a fixed and steady look, as certain hunting dogs do.
    • 1713,[John] Gay,Rural Sports. A Poem.[…],2nd edition, London:[…]J[acob]Tonson,[…],→OCLC,page16:
      Novv the vvarm Scent aſſures the Covey near, / He[the dog]treads vvith Caution, and hepointsvvith Fear;[…]
  18. (medicine,of anabscess)To approximate to thesurface;tohead.
  19. (dated)To givepointto (something said or done); to give particular prominence or force to.
    • 1852March –1853September,Charles Dickens,Bleak House,London:Bradbury and Evans,[…],published1853,→OCLC:
      Hepointsit, however, by no deviation from his straightforward manner of speech.
    • 1924,EM Forster,A Passage to India,Penguin, published2005,page85:
      ‘Oh, it is the great defect in our Indian character!’ – and, as if topointhis criticism, the lights of the Civil Station appeared on a rise to the right.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 3

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FromMiddle Englishpointen,poynten,byapheresisofapointen,appointen,appoynten.[2]Seeappoint.

Verb

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point(third-person singular simple presentpoints,present participlepointing,simple past and past participlepointed)

  1. (obsolete)Toappoint.

References

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  1. ^“pointen,v.(1).”,inMED Online,Ann Arbor, Mich.:University of Michigan,2018,retrieved20 January 2020.
  2. ^“pointen,v.(2).”,inMED Online,Ann Arbor, Mich.:University of Michigan,2018,retrieved20 January 2020.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Chinese

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Etymology

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FromEnglishpoint.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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point(Hong Kong Cantonese)

  1. point(of an argument);mainidea;argument
    CừCápointĐôKỉHữuĐạo lý[Cantonese,trad.]
    CừCápointĐôKỉHữuĐạo lý[Cantonese,simp.]
    keoi5go3pon1dou1gei2jau5dou6lei5[Jyutping]
    Hisideamakes some sense
    CừGiảngDãĐôMãopointKhái![Cantonese,trad.]
    CừGiảngDãĐôMãopointKhái![Cantonese,simp.]
    keoi5gong2je5dou1mou5pon1ge2![Jyutping]
    What he is saying does not have anypoint!
  2. levels in thewage scale
    Khiêupoint[Cantonese]―tiu3pon1[Jyutping]― to increase in salary by moving up the wage scale

Danish

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Etymology

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FromFrenchpoint,fromLatinpūnctum,the neuter of the participlepūnctus(“pointed”).The French word is also borrowed topointe,and the Latin word is borrowed topunkt(“dot”)andpunktum(“full stop”).See alsopunktere.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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point

  1. apoint(in a game)

Declension

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Declension ofpoint
neuter
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative point pointet point pointene
genitive points pointets points pointenes

See also

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Further reading

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French

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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InheritedfromMiddle Frenchpoinct(with orthography modified to reflect the Latin etymology), fromOld Frenchpoint,fromLatinpunctum.

Noun

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pointm(pluralpoints)

  1. point(small mark)
  2. (sports,games)point
  3. full stop,period(punctuation mark)
  4. (knitting)stitchpattern
  5. dot(Morse code symbol)
Derived terms
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Descendants
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Adverb

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point

  1. (literary,dialectal,usually with "ne")not
    Synonym:pas(contemporary French)
    Ne craignezpoint―Fearnot
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Etymology 2

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InheritedfromOld Frenchpoint,fromLatinpunctus.

Participle

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point(femininepointe,masculine pluralpoints,feminine pluralpointes)

  1. pastparticipleofpoindre

Etymology 3

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From Latinpungit.

Verb

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point

  1. third-personsingularpresentindicativeofpoindre

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Manx

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Etymology

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(Thisetymologyis missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium.)

Verb

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point(verbal nounpointeil,past participlepointit)

  1. appoint

Mutation

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Manx mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
point phoint boint
Note:Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Norman

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Etymology

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FromOld Frenchpoint,fromLatinpunctum.

Noun

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pointm(pluralpoints)

  1. (Jersey)full stop,period(punctuation mark)

Derived terms

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Old French

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Etymology 1

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FromLatinpunctum.

Noun

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pointoblique singular,m(oblique pluralpoinzorpointz,nominative singularpoinzorpointz,nominative pluralpoint)

  1. asting;aprick
  2. moment;time
  3. (on a die)dot
  4. smallamount

Adverb

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point

  1. a little
  2. (withne)not(indicates negation)

Descendants

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Etymology 2

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FromLatinpunctus.

Verb

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point

  1. pastparticipleofpoindre
Descendants
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Polish

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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pointfpl

  1. genitivepluralofpointa

Portuguese

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Etymology

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Unadapted borrowingfromEnglishpoint.Doubletofponto.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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pointm(pluralpoints)

  1. (Brazil,slang)a location where members of a group usually meet
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