Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - point

(points, pointing, pointed) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. You use point to refer to something that someone has said or written. We disagree with every point Mr Blunkett makes... The following tale will clearly illustrate this point. N-COUNT 2. If you say that someone has a point, or if you take their point, you mean that you accept that what they have said is important and should be considered. ‘If he’d already killed once, surely he’d have killed Sarah?’ She had a point there... N-SING: a N, poss N 3. The point of what you are saying or discussing is the most important part that provides a reason or explanation for the rest. ‘Did I ask you to talk to me?’—‘That’s not the point.’... The American Congress and media mostly missed the point about all this. N-SING: the N 4. If you ask what the point of something is, or say that there is no point in it, you are indicating that a particular action has no purpose or would not be useful. What was the point of thinking about him?... There was no point in staying any longer. N-SING: usu N of/in n/-ing 5. A point is a detail, aspect, or quality of something or someone. The most interesting point about the village was its religion... Science was never my strong point at school. N-COUNT: usu with supp 6. A point is a particular place or position where something happens. The pain originated from a point in his right thigh. N-COUNT 7. You use point to refer to a particular time, or to a particular stage in the development of something. We’re all going to die at some point... At this point Diana arrived... It got to the point where he had to leave. N-SING: with supp, oft at N 8. The point of something such as a pin, needle, or knife is the thin, sharp end of it. N-COUNT: oft N of n 9. In spoken English, you use point to refer to the dot or mark in a decimal number that separates the whole numbers from the fractions. Inflation at nine point four percent is the worst for eight years. 10. In some sports, competitions, and games, a point is one of the single marks that are added together to give the total score. They lost the 1977 World Cup final to Australia by a single point... N-COUNT 11. The points of the compass are directions such as North, South, East, and West. Sightseers arrived from all points of the compass. N-COUNT: usu with supp 12. On a railway track, the points are the levers and rails at a place where two tracks join or separate. The points enable a train to move from one track to another. (BRIT; in AM, use switches) ...the rattle of the wheels across the points. N-PLURAL 13. A point is an electric socket. (BRIT) ...too far away from the nearest electrical point. N-COUNT: usu supp N 14. If you point at a person or thing, you hold out your finger towards them in order to make someone notice them. I pointed at the boy sitting nearest me... He pointed to a chair, signalling for her to sit. VERB: V at n, V to n 15. If you point something at someone, you aim the tip or end of it towards them. David Khan pointed his finger at Mary... A man pointed a gun at them and pulled the trigger. VERB: V n at n, V n at n 16. If something points to a place or points in a particular direction, it shows where that place is or it faces in that direction. An arrow pointed to the toilets... You can go anywhere and still the compass points north or south... VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv 17. If something points to a particular situation, it suggests that the situation exists or is likely to occur. Private polls and embassy reports pointed to a no vote. VERB: V to n 18. If you point to something that has happened or that is happening, you are using it as proof that a particular situation exists. George Fodor points to other weaknesses in the way the campaign has progressed... VERB: V to n 19. When builders point a wall, they put a substance such as cement into the gaps between the bricks or stones in order to make the wall stronger and seal it. VERB: V n 20. see also pointed, breaking point, focal point, point of sale, point of view, power point, sticking point, vantage point 21. If you say that something is beside the point, you mean that it is not relevant to the subject that you are discussing. Brian didn’t like it, but that was beside the point. = irrelevant PHRASE: v-link PHR 22. When someone comes to the point or gets to the point, they start talking about the thing that is most important to them. Was she ever going to get to the point? PHRASE: V inflects 23. If you make your point or prove your point, you prove that something is true, either by arguing about it or by your actions or behaviour. I think you’ve made your point, dear... The tie-break proved the point. PHRASE: V inflects 24. If you make a point of doing something, you do it in a very deliberate or obvious way. She made a point of spending as much time as possible away from Osborne House. PHRASE: V inflects, PHR -ing 25. If you are on the point of doing something, you are about to do it. He was on the point of saying something when the phone rang... She looked on the point of tears. PHRASE: v-link PHR n/-ing 26. Something that is to the point is relevant to the subject that you are discussing, or expressed neatly without wasting words or time. The description which he had been given was brief and to the point. PHRASE: v-link PHR 27. If you say that something is true up to a point, you mean that it is partly but not completely true. ‘Was she good?’—‘Mmm. Up to a point.’ PHRASE: PHR with cl 28. a case in point: see case in point of fact: see fact to point the finger at someone: see finger a sore point: see sore