WordWeb Online

1. Railway track having two movable rails and necessary connections; used to turn a train from one track to another or to store rolling stock
   - switch [N. Amer]

1. Sharp end
   "he stuck the point of the knife into a tree"; "he broke the point of his pencil"
    
2. The precise location of something; a spatially limited location
   "she walked to a point where she could survey the whole street"
    
3. A geometric element that has position but no extension
   "a point is defined by its coordinates"
    
4. 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"
    
5. An isolated fact that is considered separately from the whole
   "a point of information";
   - detail, item
    
6. A specific identifiable position in a continuum, series or especially in a process
   "a remarkable point of frankness";
   - degree, level, stage, phase, phasis
    
7. An instant of time
   "at that point I had to leave";
   - point in time
    
8. The object of an activity
   "what is the point of discussing it?"
    
9. A V shape
   "the cannibal's teeth were filed to sharp points";
   - tip, peak
    
10. A very small circular shape
    "a row of points";
    - dot
     
11. The unit of counting in scoring a game or contest
    "he scored 20 points in the first half"; "a touchdown counts 6 points"
     
12. A promontory extending out into a large body of water
    "they sailed south around the point"
     
13. A distinct part that can be specified separately in a group of things that could be enumerated on a list
    "the main point on the agenda was taken up first";
    - item
     
14. A style in speech or writing that arrests attention and has a penetrating or convincing quality or effect
     
15. An outstanding characteristic
    "his acting was one of the high points of the movie";
    - spot
     
16. Any of 32 horizontal directions indicated on the card of a compass
    "he checked the point on his compass";
    - compass 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
    - period, full stop, stop, full point [Brit, rare]
     
20. A V-shaped mark at one end of an arrow pointer
    "the point of the arrow was due north";
    - head
     
21. The dot at the left of a decimal fraction
    - decimal point, percentage point
     
22. The property of a shape that tapers to a sharp tip
    - pointedness
     
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";
    - gunpoint
     
25. [Brit] A wall socket
    - power point [Brit]
     
26. A contact in the distributor; as the rotor turns its projecting arm contacts them and current flows to the spark plugs
    - distributor point, breaker point

1. Make clear (e.g. with a sign) which place, direction, person, or thing; either spatially or figuratively
   "He pointed to the empty parking space";
   - indicate, designate, show
    
2. Be oriented in a particular direction
   "the dancers toes pointed outward"; "The weather vane points North";
   - orient
    
3. Direct into a position for use
   "point a gun";
   - charge, level
    
4. Determine the direction of travelling
   - steer, maneuver [US], manoeuver [non-standard], manoeuvre [Brit, Cdn], direct, head, guide, channelize, channelise [Brit]
    
5. Be a signal for or a symptom of
   "Her behaviour points to a severe neurosis";
   - bespeak, betoken [archaic], indicate, signal
    
6. Sail close to the wind
   - luff
    
7. Mark with diacritics
   "point the letter"
    
8. Mark (a psalm text) to indicate the points at which the music changes
    
9. Be positionable in a specified manner
   "The gun points with ease"
    
10. Intend (something) to move towards a certain goal, or direct to a specific place or group of people
    "He pointed his fists towards his opponent's face";
    - target, aim, place, direct
     
11. Indicate the presence of (game) by standing and pointing with the muzzle
    "the dog pointed the dead duck"
     
12. Give a point to
    "The candles are pointed";
    - sharpen, taper
     
13. Repair the joints of bricks
    "point a chimney";
    - repoint

Derived forms: pointses

See also: fizzle out, taper off

Type of: aim, amount, be, bushel [US], change form, change shape, characteristic, command, component, component part, constituent, contact, control, convex shape, convexity, deform, direct, direction, disc, disk [N. Amer], doctor [informal], electric outlet, electric receptacle, electrical outlet, element, end, fact, factor, fix, foreland, furbish up, gun muzzle, head, headland, import, inform, ingredient, label, lie, linear measure, linear unit, loan, location, mark, mathematical notation, meaning, measure, mend, muzzle, object, objective, outlet, part, portion, promontory, punctuation, punctuation mark [Brit], quantity, railroad [N. Amer], railroad track [N. Amer], railway [Brit, Cdn], railway track [Brit, Cdn], relevance, relevancy, repair, restore, sail, saucer, significance, signification, state, tag, take, take aim, tangency, taper, target, tell, terminal, touch on, train, unit, unit of measurement, wall plug, wall socket

Part of: alpenstock, arrow, arrowhead, awl, blade, brand, cone, cone shape, conoid, distributer, distributor, electrical distributor, em, ice pick, icepick, knife, list, listing, needle, pencil, pica, pica em, pin, pointer, score, steel, sword

Encyclopedia: Points, West Virginia