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- DictionaryPoint/point/
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 period.
- ▪ a decimal point: "fifty-five point nine"
- ▪ a dot or small stroke used in the alphabets of Semitic languages to indicate vowels or distinguish particular consonants.
- ▪ a very small dot or mark on a surface: "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 Apple Grove" Similar placepositionlocationsitespotarealocalitylocaletechnical:locus
- ▪ a particular moment in time or stage in a process: "from this point onward, 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: "it is packed to the 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: "you ignore a number of important points" Similar detailitemparticularfactthingpiece of informationideaargumentconsiderationfactorelementaspectregardrespectsubjectissuetopicquestionmatterinformal:deets
- ▪ an argument or idea put forward by a person in discussion: "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 what is intended or being 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: "he scored 13 of his team's final 19 points against Houston"
- ▪ (in craps) the combination total of the two thrown dice (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) that permits a shooter to keep throwing until he or she throws the same number again and wins.
- ▪ 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 toward an award or benefit: "points were allocated according to the inadequacy of the existing accommodation"
- ▪ a percentage of the profits from a movie or recording offered to certain people involved in its production.
- ▪ a punishment imposed by the courts for a driving offense and recorded cumulatively on a person's driver's license: "operating under the influence meant ten points marked up against the driver"
- ▪ (in piquet) the longest suit in a player's hand, containing a specified number of up to eight cards.
- ▪ a unit of weight (one hundredth of a carat, or 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 a hand.
- 6. each of thirty-two directions marked at equal distances around a compass.
- ▪ a direction toward 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 I-95 to Philadelphia and points south"
- 7. a wall outlet or jack: British "a telephone point"
- 8. a narrow piece of land jutting out into a lake or ocean: "the boat came around the point"
- 9. a unit of measurement for type sizes and spacing, which in the US and UK is one twelfth of a pica, or 0.013835 inch (0.351 mm), and in Europe is 0.015 inch (0.376 mm).
- 10. either of two areas in each attacking zone, 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 defense.
- 11. each of a set of electrical contacts in the distributor of a motor vehicle.
- 12. a small leading party of an advanced guard of troops.
- ▪ the position at the head of a column or wedge of troops: North American "another marine said he would walk point because I had done it on the last patrol"
- ▪ short for point man North American
- 13. 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"
- 14. a spot to which a straight run is made.
- ▪ a straight run: "our fox made his point to Moorhill"
- 15. a tagged piece of ribbon or cord used for lacing a garment or attaching breeches to a doublet. historical
- 16. a short piece of cord for tying up a reef in a sail.
- 17. the action or position of a dog in pointing: "a bird dog on point"
- 18. an important phrase or subject, especially in a contrapuntal composition.
- 19. another term for switch British
verb
- 1. direct someone's attention toward something by extending one's finger or something held in one's hand: "the boys 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 flashlight 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 toward 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 in or repair the joints of (brickwork, a brick structure, or tiling) with smoothly finished mortar or cement: "the bricks have been poorly pointed"
- 5. give a sharp, tapered point to: "he twisted and pointed his mustache"
- 6. insert points in (written Hebrew).
- ▪ 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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3O
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