point
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}]
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}]
6: a very short period of time; "at that point I had to leave"
[syn: {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: {tip}, {peak}]
9: a very small circular shape; "a row of points"; "draw lines
between the dots" [syn: {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}]
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: {spot}]
15: sharp end; "he stuck the point of the knife into a tree";
"he broke the point of the pencil"
16: any of 32 horizontal directions indicated on the card of a
compass; "he checked the point on his compass" [syn: {compass
point}]
17: a linear unit used to measure the size of type;
approximately 1/72 inch
18: 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}, {full
stop}, {stop}, {full point}]
19: a V-shaped mark at one end of an arrow pointer; "the point
of the arrow was due north" [syn: {head}]
20: the property of a shape that tapers to a sharp point [syn: {pointedness}]
[ant: {unpointedness}]
21: a distinguishing or individuating characteristic; "he knows
my bad points as well as my good points"
22: the muzzle's direction; "he held me up at the point of a
gun" [syn: {gunpoint}]
23: (British) a wall socket [syn: {power point}]
24: a contact in the distributor; as the rotor turns its
projecting arm contacts distributor points and current
flows to the spark plugs [syn: {distributor point}, {breaker
point}]
v 1: indicate a place, direction, person, or thing; either
spatially or figuratively; "I showed the customer the
glove section"; "He showed her that there was a lot of
space"; "he indicated his opponents" [syn: {indicate}, {show}]
2: be oriented [syn: {orient}]
3: direct into a position for use; "point a gun"; "He charged
his weapon at me" [syn: {charge}, {level}]
4: direct the course; determine the direction of travelling
[syn: {steer}, {maneuver}, {manouevre}, {direct}, {head},
{guide}]
5: be a signal for or a symptom of; "These symptoms indicate a
serious illness" [syn: {bespeak}, {betoken}, {indicate}, {signal}]
6: sail close to the wind [syn: {luff}]
7: be positionable in a specified manner; "The gun points with
ease"
8: 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}]
9: give directions to; point somebody into a certain direction;
"I directed them towards the town hall" [syn: {direct}]
10: give a point to; "The candles are tapered" [syn: {sharpen},
{taper}]
11: repair the joints of bricks; "point a chimney" [syn: {repoint}]