Word.ws English Dictionary

point

/pɔɪnt/

point noun: something tiny, as a pinprick; a very small mark. Also the ellipsis of percentage point.

point: something tiny, as a pinprick; a very small mark
Image: Cyygma, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

point (countable and uncountable, plural points)

  1. Something tiny, as a pinprick; a very small mark.
    • The stars showed as tiny points of yellow light.
  2. A full stop or other terminal punctuation mark.
    • Commas and points they set exactly right.1735, Alexander Pope, The Prologue to the Satires
  3. A decimal point (now especially when reading decimal fractions aloud).
    • 10.5 is "ten point five", or ten and a half.
    • 0.375 cm is nought point three seven five of a centimeter.
  4. Each of the marks or strokes written above letters, especially in Semitic languages, to indicate vowels, stress etc.
  5. 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. (broadly) A note; a tune.
    • Sound the trumpet — not a levant, or a flourish, but a point of war.1826, [Walter Scott], Woodstock; Or, The Cavalier. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Rees...
  7. A zero-dimensional mathematical object representing a location in one or more dimensions; something considered to have position but no magnitude or direction.
  8. An individual element in a larger whole; a particular detail, thought, or quality.
    • The Congress debated the finer points of the bill.
  9. A particular moment in an event or occurrence; a juncture.
    • 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.
    Synonyms:
    moment, ord, time
  10. (archaic) Condition, state.
    • She was not feeling in good point.
  11. A topic of discussion or debate; a proposition; a count.
    • I made the point that we all had an interest to protect.
  12. (US, dated, slang) An item of private information; a hint; a tip; a pointer.
Show 44 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. A focus of conversation or consideration; the main idea.
    • The point is that we should stay together, whatever happens.
  2. A purpose or objective, which makes something meaningful.
    • Near-synonyms: meaning, meaningfulness, use
    • Since the decision has already been made, I see little point in further discussion.
  3. (obsolete) The smallest quantity of something; a jot, a whit.
    • full large of limbe and euery ioint / He was, and cared not for God or man a point.1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.ii
  4. (obsolete) A tiny amount of time; a moment.
    • When time's first point begun / Made he all souls.1599, John Davies, “Of the Soule of Man and the Immortalitie Thereof”, in Nosce Teipsum
  5. A specific location or place, seen as a spatial position.
    • We should meet at a pre-arranged point.
  6. A distinguishing quality or characteristic.
    • Logic isn't my strong point.
  7. (dated, in plural) The chief or excellent features.
    • the points of a horse
    • 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...1931, Arnold Bennett, The Night Visitor and Other Stories, page 290
  8. (plural-normally) An area of contrasting colour on an animal, especially a dog; a marking.
    • The point color of that cat was a deep, rich sable.
  9. (now only in phrases) A tenth; formerly also a twelfth.
    • Possession is nine points of the law.
  10. (board games) A unit of scoring in a game or competition.
    • The one with the most points will win the game.
  11. (board games) A unit of various numerical parameters used in a game, e.g. health, experience, stamina, mana.
    • This attack deals 320 points of damage.
    • Defeating the boss grants 60 experience points.
  12. A unit used to express differences in prices of stocks and shares.
  13. A unit of measure equal to 1/12 of a pica, or approximately 1/72 of an inch (exactly 1/72 of an inch in the digital era).
  14. (UK) An electric power socket.
  15. (UK) A unit of measure for rain, equal to 0.254 mm or 0.01 of an inch.
  16. (in plural) Either of the two metal surfaces in a distributor which close or open to allow or prevent the flow of current through the ignition coil. There is usually a moving point, pushed by the distributor cam, and a fixed point, and they are built together as a unit.
  17. The sharp tip of an object.
    • Cut the skin with the point of the knife.
    • Leaue words & let them feele your lances pointesc. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...
    Synonyms:
    end, ord, tip
  18. Any projecting extremity of an object.
  19. An object which has a sharp or tapering tip.
    • His cowboy belt was studded with points.
  20. A spearhead or similar object hafted to a handle.
    • Solutrean points resemble the canines of the sabre-toothed cats.2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History
  21. (obsolete) A vaccine point.
  22. Each of the twelve triangular positions in either table of a backgammon board, on which the stones are played.
  23. A peninsula or promontory.
  24. The position at the front or vanguard of an advancing force.
    • Willie Jones decided to become Kimani Jones, Black Panther, on the day his best friend, Otis Nicholson, stepped on a mine while walking point during a sweep in the central highlands.2004, Martin Torgoff, “Next Stop is Vietnam”, in Can’t Find My Way Home: America in the Great Stoned Age, 1945–2000, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 189
  25. (broadly) An operational or public leadership position in a risky endeavor.
    • "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 has point on this, I don't want to hear from you unless it's an all clear."2013, Erik Schubach, Music of the Soul, volume 1
    • The president’s senior policy adviser, Stephen Miller, has been point on immigration policy.2018 July 2, Paul Winfree, “Trump’s economic agenda is unfocused. Here’s how to fix it.”, in Washington Post
  26. Each of the main directions on a compass, usually considered to be 32 in number; a direction.
  27. (navigation) The difference between two points of the compass; a unit of bearing equal to one thirty-second of a circle, i.e. 11.25°.
    • to fall off a point
    • Ship ahoy, three points off the starboard bow!
  28. Pointedness of speech or writing; a penetrating or decisive quality of expression.
    • There was moreover a hint of the duchess in the infinite point with which, as she felt, she exclaimed: "And this is what you call coming often?"1897, Henry James, What Maisie Knew
    • And with an emphatic nod to give point to her self-possession Mrs. Larch vanished.1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London
  29. (UK, in plural) A railroad switch.
  30. A tine or snag of an antler.
  31. One of the “corners” of the escutcheon: the base (bottom center) unless a qualifier is added (point dexter, point dexter base, point sinister, point sinister base), generally when separately tinctured. (Compare terrace, point champaine, enté en point.)
  32. (broadly) An ordinary similar to a pile (but sometimes shorter), extending upward from the base. (Often termed a point pointed.)
    • The point, 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;[…]1828, William Berry, Encyclopaedia Heraldica Or Complete Dictionary of Heraldry
  33. The act of pointing, as of the foot downward in certain dance positions.
  34. The gesture of extending the index finger in a direction in order to indicate something.
    • […] DCDP children are exposed to more points and gesturelike signs in their linguistic environment […]2005, Marc Marschark, Patricia Elizabeth Spencer, Oxford handbook of deaf studies, language, and education
  35. The attitude assumed by a pointer dog when he finds game.
    • The dog came to a point.
  36. The perpendicular rising of a hawk over the place where its prey has gone into cover.
  37. A movement executed with the sabre or foil.
    • tierce point
  38. A short piece of cordage used in reefing sails.
  39. (historical) A string or lace used to tie together certain garments.
    • pick your purse while they tie your points, and cut your throat while they smooth your pillow1822 May 29, [Walter Scott], The Fortunes of Nigel. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III) (in English), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London...
  40. Lace worked by the needle.
    • point de Venise; Brussels point
    • And I to make all knovv, I am not ſhallovv, / VVill have my points of Cucchineale and yellovv.c. 1621–1623 (date written), Philip Massinger, The Maid of Honour. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Robert Allot, […], published 1632, →OCLC, Act V, scene i, signature [K4], recto
  41. A fielding position square of the wicket on the off side, between gully and cover.
  42. The position of the player of each side who stands a short distance in front of the goalkeeper.
  43. The position of the pitcher and catcher.
  44. A spot to which a straight run is made; hence, a straight run from point to point; a cross-country run.

Interjection

point

  1. Point taken; understood; got it.

Verb (1)

point (third-person singular simple present points, present participle pointing, simple past and past participle pointed)

  1. (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.
    • Now must the world point at poor Katharine.c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
  2. (intransitive) To draw attention to something or indicate a direction.
    • The arrow of a compass points north
    • The skis were pointing uphill.
  3. (intransitive) To face in a particular direction.
  4. (figuratively, sometimes, transitive) To direct toward an object; to aim.
    • to point a gun at a wolf, or a cannon at a fort
    • Mr. Fitzsimons pointed my 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 […]1853, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, Parliamentary Papers, volume 11, page 267
  5. 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
  6. (intransitive) To indicate a probability of something.
    • Tens of thousands of Portuguese, Greek and Irish people have left their homelands this year, many heading for the southern hemisphere. Anecdotal evidence points to the same happening in Spain and Italy.2011 December 21, Helen Pidd, “Europeans migrate south as continent drifts deeper into crisis”, in the Guardian
  7. (ambitransitive) To repair mortar.
  8. (transitive) 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.
    • Damaged stone will be removed, and the new stone installed and pointed to ensure a comprehensive match to maintain the integrity of the structure.2020 May 20, Philip Haigh, “Ribblehead: at the heart of the S&C's survival and its revival: Ribblehead Viaduct repairs”, in Rail, page 27
  10. (transitive) To direct or encourage (someone) in a particular direction.
    • If he asks for food, point him toward the refrigerator.
    • Whosoever should be guided through his battles by Minerva, and pointed to every scene of them.1715–1720, Homer, “(please specify the book of the Iliad or chapter quoted from)”, in Alexander Pope, transl., The Iliad of Homer, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: […] W[illiam]...
  11. (transitive) To separate an integer from a decimal with a decimal point.
  12. (transitive) To mark with diacritics.
Show 8 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (transitive) To mark (e.g. an Anglican psalm) with pointing.
  2. (dated) To supply with punctuation marks; to punctuate.
    • to point a composition
  3. (transitive) To direct the central processing unit to seek information at a certain location in memory.
  4. (Internet, transitive) To direct requests sent to a domain name to the IP address corresponding to that domain name.
  5. (intransitive) To sail close to the wind.
    • Bear off a little, we're pointing.
  6. (intransitive) To indicate the presence of game by a fixed and steady look, as certain hunting dogs do.
    • Novv the vvarm Scent aſſures the Covey near, / He [the dog] treads vvith Caution, and he points vvith Fear; […]1713, [John] Gay, Rural Sports. A Poem. […], 2nd edition, London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 16
    • The writer from whom we derive the following legends tells us that he knew an old man whose dog had pointed a troop of fairies, and though he could not see them he plainly heard their music sounding like a fiddle and a very small pair of pipes.1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 310
  7. To approximate to the surface; to head.
  8. (dated) To give point to (something said or done); to give particular prominence or force to.
    • He points it, however, by no deviation from his straightforward manner of speech.1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC
    • ‘Oh, it is the great defect in our Indian character!’ – and, as if to point his criticism, the lights of the Civil Station appeared on a rise to the right.1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin, published 2005, page 85

Verb (2)

point (third-person singular simple present points, present participle pointing, simple past and past participle pointed)

  1. (obsolete) To appoint.
    • And he, that points the Centinel his room,
      Doth license him depart at sound of morning Droom.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC

Proper noun (1) capitalized: Point

the Point

  1. (informal) USMA (United States Military Academy) in West Point, New York.
    • Study goes on until tattoo, which, when Pops was at the Point, was sounded at 9.30, followed by taps at 10.2017, Charles King, Cadet Days

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Point

Point

  1. A township in Posey County, Indiana, United States, so-named for being the southernmost and westernmost point in the state.
  2. A township in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States.
  3. A minor city in Rains County, Texas, United States.
  4. A coastal settlement in Feock parish, south-west Cornwall, England (OS grid ref SW8138).
    • Cornwall County Council asked for a decision on objections raised by property owners to its proposal to convert the site of the railway into a public road for a distance of 1 mile 86 yards from Devoran to Point (Restronguet Creek).1952 March, “Notes and News: A Redruth & Chasewater Echo”, in Railway Magazine, page 206

Proper noun (3) capitalized: Point

Point (plural Points)

  1. A surname from French.

Also used as

point is also the ellipsis of percentage point.

point is also the ellipsis of point man.

point meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

point in Hindi

geometry: zero-dimensional object
बिंदु bindu

point in Tamil

purpose or objective
பிரயோஜனம் pirayōjaṉam

point in Marathi

geometry: zero-dimensional object
बिंदू bindū

point in Urdu

geometry: zero-dimensional object
نُقْطَہ nuqta
More languagesFewer languages
point in Bengali
বিন্দু bindu
point in Telugu
పాయింట్, బిందువు
point in Malayalam
പോയിന്റ്, പോയിൻ്റ്
point in Kannada
ಪಾಯಿಂಟ್, ಬಿಂದುವು
point in Punjabi
ਬਿੰਦੂ bindū
point in Gujarati
બિંદુ bindu
point in Odia
ବିନ୍ଦୁ, ପଏଣ୍ଟ
point in Sanskrit
बिन्दु bindu
point in Sinhala
උල ula, ලක්ෂය lakṣaya, අවස්ථාව awasthāwa, ස්ථානය sthānaya
point in Nepali
बिन्दु bindu
point in Pashto
نقطه noqtá
point in Tagalog
punto, tuldok
point in Arabic
نُقْطَة nuqṭa, مَوْقِع mawqiʕ, أَشَارَ ʔašāra
point in Malay
mata, tuju, pecah
point in Indonesian
koma, ujung, titik, menunjuk
point in Thai
พินทุ pin-tú, ชี้ chíi
point in Vietnamese
điểm, ý, ý tưởng, nơi
point in Myanmar
အစက် a.cak, ဗိန္ဒု bindu.

Examples of point in a sentence

  • The arrow on the map points towards the entrance
  • He asked about six questions during my yarn, but every question had a point to it.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter IV, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
  • But I love you / More than I wanted to / There's no point in trying to pretend1983 October 31, Genesis, “That's All”, in Genesis:
  • He captained Regis High School’s 1958 squad, but now runs point on infectious diseases.2020 July 23, Gabe Lacques, “Dr. Anthony Fauci throws first pitch at Nationals-Yankees MLB opener”, in USA TODAY:
  • Instead of one point-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.2020 August 11, Michelle Karas, “Woodland Park School District plans for Aug. 25 reopening with multiple learning options”, in Pikes Peak...

All 40 example sentences with point

Synonyms of point

8 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of point

Forms of point

Noun
pluralpoints
alternative formp'int
Verb
third-person singular presentpoints
present participlepointing
past participlepointed
pastpointed
Proper noun
pluralPoints

Past tense of point: pointed

Plural of point: points

Origin of point

From Middle English poynt, from Old French point m (“dot; minute amount”), from Latin pūnctum (“a hole punched in; a point, puncture”), substantive use of pūnctus m, perfect passive participle of pungō (“to prick, punch”); alternatively, from Old French pointe f (“sharp tip”), from Latin pūncta f (past participle), all from Proto-Italic *pungō (“to sting, prick”). Mostly displaced native Middle English ord (“point”), from Old English ord (“point”). Doublet of pointe, ponto, puncto, punctum, punt, and punto.

From Middle English pointen, poynten, from Old French pointier, pointer, poynter, from point from Latin pūnctum.

From Middle English pointen, poynten, by apheresis of apointen, appointen, appoynten. See appoint.

Words formed from point

Phrases with point

181 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with point

7 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about point

What does point mean?
Point means something tiny, as a pinprick; a very small mark.
What is point in Hindi?
Point in Hindi is बिंदु (bindu). See Point meaning in Hindi.
How do you use point in a sentence?
The arrow on the map points towards the entrance
What part of speech is point?
Point can be a noun, an interjection, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce point?
Point is pronounced /pɔɪnt/ (UK).
What is the plural of point?
The plural of point is points.

Words near point in the dictionary

  1. Poinsett County
  2. poinsetta
  3. poinsettas
  4. poinsettia
  5. poinsettias
  6. point
  7. point and call
  8. point and shoot
  9. point and shoot camera
  10. point and shoots
  11. Point Arena

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: point (page history and authors); Point (page history and authors); point (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); point (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); point (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); point (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-point.ogg, en-au-point.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-point.wav.

Cite this entry: “point.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/point. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.