Point - Definition

n 1: a geometric element that has position but no extension; "a
point is defined by its coordinates"
2: the precise location of something; a spatially limited
location; "she walked to a point where she could survey the
whole street"
3: a brief version of the essential meaning of something; "get
to the point"; "he missed the point of the joke"; "life has
lost its point"
4: an isolated fact that is considered separately from the
whole; "several of the details are similar"; "a point of
information" [syn: detail, item, point]
5: a specific identifiable position in a continuum or series or
especially in a process; "a remarkable degree of frankness";
"at what stage are the social sciences?" [syn: degree,
level, stage, point]
6: an instant of time; "at that point I had to leave" [syn:
point, point in time]
7: the object of an activity; "what is the point of discussing
it?"
8: a V shape; "the cannibal's teeth were filed to sharp points"
[syn: point, tip, peak]
9: a very small circular shape; "a row of points"; "draw lines
between the dots" [syn: point, dot]
10: the unit of counting in scoring a game or contest; "he
scored 20 points in the first half"; "a touchdown counts 6
points"
11: a promontory extending out into a large body of water; "they
sailed south around the point"
12: a distinct part that can be specified separately in a group
of things that could be enumerated on a list; "he noticed an
item in the New York Times"; "she had several items on her
shopping list"; "the main point on the agenda was taken up
first" [syn: item, point]
13: a style in speech or writing that arrests attention and has
a penetrating or convincing quality or effect
14: an outstanding characteristic; "his acting was one of the
high points of the movie" [syn: point, spot]
15: sharp end; "he stuck the point of the knife into a tree";
"he broke the point of his pencil"
16: any of 32 horizontal directions indicated on the card of a
compass; "he checked the point on his compass" [syn:
compass point, point]
17: a linear unit used to measure the size of type;
approximately 1/72 inch
18: one percent of the total principal of a loan; it is paid at
the time the loan is made and is independent of the interest
on the loan
19: a punctuation mark (.) placed at the end of a declarative
sentence to indicate a full stop or after abbreviations; "in
England they call a period a stop" [syn: period, point,
full stop, stop, full point]
20: a V-shaped mark at one end of an arrow pointer; "the point
of the arrow was due north" [syn: point, head]
21: the dot at the left of a decimal fraction [syn: decimal
point, percentage point, point]
22: the property of a shape that tapers to a sharp tip [syn:
point, pointedness] [ant: unpointedness]
23: a distinguishing or individuating characteristic; "he knows
my bad points as well as my good points"
24: the gun muzzle's direction; "he held me up at the point of a
gun" [syn: point, gunpoint]
25: a wall socket [syn: point, power point]
26: a contact in the distributor; as the rotor turns its
projecting arm contacts them and current flows to the spark
plugs [syn: distributor point, breaker point, point]
v 1: indicate a place, direction, person, or thing; either
spatially or figuratively; "I showed the customer the glove
section"; "He pointed to the empty parking space"; "he
indicated his opponents" [syn: indicate, point,
designate, show]
2: be oriented; "The weather vane points North"; "the dancers
toes pointed outward" [syn: orient, point]
3: direct into a position for use; "point a gun"; "He charged
his weapon at me" [syn: charge, level, point]
4: direct the course; determine the direction of travelling
[syn: steer, maneuver, manoeuver, manoeuvre,
direct, point, head, guide, channelize,
channelise]
5: be a signal for or a symptom of; "These symptoms indicate a
serious illness"; "Her behavior points to a severe neurosis";
"The economic indicators signal that the euro is undervalued"
[syn: bespeak, betoken, indicate, point, signal]
6: sail close to the wind [syn: luff, point]
7: mark (Hebrew words) with diacritics
8: mark with diacritics; "point the letter"
9: mark (a psalm text) to indicate the points at which the music
changes
10: be positionable in a specified manner; "The gun points with
ease"
11: intend (something) to move towards a certain goal; "He aimed
his fists towards his opponent's face"; "criticism directed
at her superior"; "direct your anger towards others, not
towards yourself" [syn: target, aim, place, direct,
point]
12: indicate the presence of (game) by standing and pointing
with the muzzle; "the dog pointed the dead duck"
13: give a point to; "The candles are tapered" [syn: sharpen,
taper, point]
14: repair the joints of bricks; "point a chimney" [syn:
point, repoint]