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point

noun
/pɔɪnt/US

Etymology

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.

  1. derived from *pungō✻ — “to sting, prick”
  2. derived from pūnctus
  3. derived from pointe
  4. derived from pūnctum — “a hole punched in; a point, puncture”
  5. derived from point
  6. inherited from poynt

Definitions

  1. A small dot or mark.

    • The stars showed as tiny points of yellow light.

  2. A small discrete division or individual feature of something.

    • The Congress debated the finer points of the bill.

  3. A sharp extremity.

    • Cut the skin with the point of the knife.
    • Leaue words & let them feele your lances pointes
  4. ›+ 32 more definitions

    1. The act of pointing.

    2. A short piece of cordage used in reefing sails.

    3. 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 pillow

    4. 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.
      • He wore a garb rather fanciful, of a silver-grey colour, trimmed with crimson, and a narrow edging of silver; the lace round his throat was of the finest point; […]

    5. In various sports, a position of a certain player, or, by extension, the player occupying…

      In various sports, a position of a certain player, or, by extension, the player occupying that position.

    6. point taken

      point taken; understood; got it

    7. To extend the index finger in the direction of something in order to show where it is or…

      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.
      • Point at the tattered coat and ragged shoe.

    8. 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

    9. To face in a particular direction.

    10. To direct toward an object

      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 […]

    11. To give a point to

      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

    12. 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.

    13. To repair mortar.

    14. To fill up and finish the joints of (a wall), by introducing additional cement or mortar,…

      To fill up and finish the joints of (a wall), by introducing additional cement or mortar, and bringing it to a smooth surface.

    15. 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.

    16. 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.

    17. To separate an integer from a decimal with a decimal point.

    18. To mark with diacritics.

    19. To supply with punctuation marks

      To supply with punctuation marks; to punctuate.

      • to point a composition

    20. To direct the central processing unit to seek information at a certain location in memory.

    21. To direct requests sent to a domain name to the IP address corresponding to that domain…

      To direct requests sent to a domain name to the IP address corresponding to that domain name.

    22. To sail close to the wind.

      • Bear off a little, we're pointing.

    23. 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; […]

    24. To approximate to the surface

      To approximate to the surface; to head.

    25. To give point to (something said or done)

      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.
      • ‘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.

    26. To appoint.

      • And he, that points the Centinel his room, Doth license him depart at sound of morning Droom.

    27. 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.

    28. A township in Posey County, Indiana, United States, so-named for being the southernmost…

      A township in Posey County, Indiana, United States, so-named for being the southernmost and westernmost point in the state.

    29. A township in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States.

    30. A minor city in Rains County, Texas, United States.

    31. 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).

    32. A surname from French.

The neighborhood

Derived

ability point, ace point, acupoint, aimpoint, all-points, all-points bulletin, all points of the compass, antipoint, arrowpoint, arrow point, articulation point, assembly point, at all points, at some point, at swords' points, at the point of, at this point, at this point in time, Autopoint, bar point, belabor the point, belabour the point, besides the point, beside the point, Bevan point, binary point, bipoint, bladepoint, blowpoint, bluepoint, branchpoint, breakpoint, breastpoint, brown-point shield skin longirostris, Brussels point, bursting point, call point, carry one's point, centerpoint, changepoint · +491 more

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for point. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA