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- Dictionarypoint/pɔɪnt/
noun
- 1. the tapered, sharp end of a tool, weapon, or other object: "the point of his dagger" Similar tipsharp endtapered endendextremityprongspiketinenibbarb
- ▪ a pointed flake or blade, especially one that has been worked.
- ▪ another term for pointe
- ▪ the tip of a person's chin as a spot for a blow: "Andrews caught him on the point"
- ▪ the prong of a deer's antler: "a fine buck of eight points"
- 2. a dot or other punctuation mark, in particular a full stop.
- ▪ a decimal point: "fifty-five point nine"
- ▪ a dot or small stroke used in Semitic languages to indicate vowels or distinguish particular consonants.
- ▪ a very small dot or mark: "the sky was studded with points of light" Similar pinpointdotspotspeckfleckmark
- 3. a particular spot, place, or position in an area or on a map, object, or surface: "turn left at the point where you see a sign to Appleford" Similar placepositionlocationsitespotarealocalitylocaletechnical:locus
- ▪ a particular moment in time or stage in a process: "from this point onwards the teacher was completely won over" Similar timestagejunctureperiodphasemoment in timemomentinstant
- ▪ the critical or decisive moment: "when it came to the point he would probably do what was expected of him" Similar decisive momentcritical momentmoment of truthpoint of no returncrunchcruxzero hour
- ▪ the verge or brink of (doing or being something): "she was on the point of leaving"
- ▪ a stage or level at which a change of state occurs: "local kennels are full to bursting point" Similar leveldegreestagepitchextentheight
- ▪ (in geometry) something having position but not spatial extent, magnitude, dimension, or direction, for example the intersection of two lines.
- 4. a single item or detail in an extended discussion, list, or text: "the main points of the Edinburgh agreement" Similar detailitemparticularfactthingpiece of informationideaargumentconsiderationfactorelementaspectregardrespectsubjectissuetopicquestionmatterinformal:deets
- ▪ an argument or idea: "he made the point that economic regulation involves controls on pricing" Similar most important factmain pointcentral pointessential pointessencenubfocal pointsalient pointheart of the matterkeynotecorepithmarrowmeatcruxmeaningsignificancesignificationimportgistsubstancedriftthrustburdenthemesensemoralrelevancetenorinformal:brass tacksnitty-gritty
- ▪ the significant or essential element of something being planned or discussed: "it took her a long time to come to the point"
- ▪ advantage or purpose that can be gained from doing something: "there was no point in denying the truth" Similar purposeaimobjectobjectivegoalintentionenddesignreasonuseutilitysensemotivevalueadvantage
- ▪ relevance or effectiveness.
- ▪ a distinctive feature or characteristic, typically a good one, of a person or thing: "he has his good points" Similar attributecharacteristicfeaturetraitqualitypropertyaspectfacetsidestreakpeculiarityidiosyncrasy
- 5. (in sports and games) a mark or unit of scoring awarded for success or performance: "he kicked a penalty goal to put Bangor eight points ahead"
- ▪ a unit used in measuring value, achievement, or extent: "the shares index was down seven points"
- ▪ an advantage or success in an argument or discussion: "she smiled, assuming she had won her point"
- ▪ a unit of credit towards an award or benefit: "points were allocated according to the inadequacy of the existing accommodation"
- ▪ a percentage of the profits from a film or recording offered to certain people involved in its production.
- ▪ (in piquet) the longest suit in a player's hand, containing a specified number of up to eight cards.
- ▪ a unit of weight (2 mg) for diamonds.
- ▪ a unit of varying value, used in quoting the price of stocks, bonds, or futures.
- ▪ a value assigned to certain cards (4 points for an ace, 3 for a king, 2 for a queen, and 1 for a jack, sometimes with extra points for long or short suits) by a player in assessing the strength of their hand: "in Acol it is permissible to open with only twelve points"
- 6. each of thirty-two directions marked at equal distances round a compass.
- ▪ a direction towards the horizon corresponding to the direction marked on a compass.
- ▪ the angular interval between two successive points of a compass, i.e. one eighth of a right angle (11° 15ʹ).
- ▪ unspecified places considered in terms of their direction from a specified place: "they headed down Highway 401 to Ontario and points west"
- 7. a socket in a wall for connecting a device to an electrical supply or communications network: British "a power point"
- 8. a narrow piece of land jutting out into the sea: "the boat came round the point"
- 9. a junction of two railway lines, with a pair of linked tapering rails that can be moved laterally to allow a train to pass from one line to the other: British "the train gave a lurch as it passed over the points"
- 10. a unit of measurement for type sizes and spacing (in the UK and US 0.351 mm, in Europe 0.376 mm).
- 11. a fielding position on the off side near the batter.
- ▪ a fielder at the point position.
- ▪ either of two areas to the left and right of the net, just inside the blue line where it meets the boards.
- ▪ a position at the front of the court, usually manned by the guard who sets up the team's defence.
- 12. (in a motor vehicle) each of a set of electrical contacts in the distributor.
- 13. a small leading party of an advanced guard of troops.
- ▪ the position at the head of a column or wedge of troops: North American "he walked point and I took the tail"
- ▪ short for point man North American
- 14. the extremities of an animal, typically a horse or cat, such as the face, paws, and tail of a Siamese cat: "a pure white dog with black points"
- 15. a spot to which a straight run is made.
- ▪ a straight run: "our fox made his point to Moorhill"
- 16. a tagged piece of ribbon or cord used for lacing a garment or attaching a hose to a doublet. historical
- 17. a short piece of cord at the lower edge of a sail for tying up a reef.
- 18. the action or position of a dog in pointing: "a bird dog on point"
- 19. an important phrase or subject, especially in a contrapuntal composition.
verb
- 1. direct someone's attention towards something by extending one's finger or something held in one's hand: "the lads were nudging each other and pointing at me"
- ▪ indicate a particular time, direction, or reading: "a sign pointing left"
- ▪ direct or aim (something) at someone or something: "he pointed the torch beam at the floor" Similar aimdirectleveltraindraw/get a bead on
- ▪ face or be turned in a particular direction: "two of its toes point forward and two point back"
- ▪ (of a dog) indicate the presence of (game) by standing rigid while looking towards it.
- 2. give force or emphasis to (words or actions): "he wouldn't miss the opportunity to point a moral"
- 3. extend (the toes or feet) in line with the leg by tensing the foot and ankle in such a way as to form a point: "reach up with your arms and point your toes"
- 4. fill the joints of (brickwork or masonry) with smoothly finished mortar: "the bricks have been poorly pointed"
- 5. give a sharp, tapered point to: "he twisted and pointed his moustache"
- 6. insert points in (written text of Semitic languages).
- ▪ mark (Psalms) with signs for chanting.
Word Origin Middle English: the noun partly from Old French point, from Latin punctum ‘something that is pricked’, giving rise to the senses ‘unit, mark, point in space or time’; partly from Old French pointe, from Latin puncta ‘pricking’, giving rise to the senses ‘sharp tip, promontory’. The verb is from Old French pointer, and in some senses from the English noun.
Scrabble Points: 7
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