point

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. object, meaning, significance, intent, aim; speck, dot, spot; place, location; pin, needle, prick, spike, prong, tip, end; limit; goal, site. See importance, sharpness, littleness. —v. aim; face, tend, lead, indicate. See straightness, direction, indication.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [A position having no extent]

Syn. location, spot, locality; see position 1 .

2. [A sharp, tapered end]

Syn. end, pointed end, apex, needle point, pin point, barb, prick, spur, spike, tine, nib, snag, spine, claw, tooth, calk, rowel, stabber, sticker, prickler; see also thorn , tip 1 .

3. [Anything having a point, sense 2]

Syn. sword, dagger, stiletto; see knife , needle 1 .

4. [Purpose]

Syn. aim, object, intent; see purpose 1 .

5. [Meaning]

Syn. subject, main idea, force, drift, import, gist; see also meaning .

6. [A time]

Syn. period, limit, duration; see time 1 .

7. [A detail]

Syn. case, feature, point at issue; see circumstance , detail 1 .

8. [A tally]

Syn. count, notch, mark; see score 1 .

• at the point of,

Syn. on the verge of, close to, almost; see near 1 .

• beside the point,

Syn. immaterial, not pertinent, not Germane; see irrelevant .

• come to the point,

Syn. be brief, speak plainly, cut the matter short, get to the particulars, make a long story short*, get down to brass tacks*, not mince words*, cut to the chase*; see also compress , contract 2 , explain .

• in point,

Syn. apt, pertinent, Germane; see relevant .

• in point of,

Syn. in the matter of, as concerns, as relevant to; see about 2 .

• make a point of,

Syn. stress, emphasize, do as a rule, do on principle, insist upon; see also emphasize .

• stretch or [m1]• strain a point,

Syn. allow, make an exception, concede; see yield 1 .

• to the point,

Syn. pertinent, apt, exact; see relevant .

v.

1. [To indicate]

Syn. show, name, denote; see designate 1 .

2. [To direct]

Syn. guide, steer, influence; see lead 1 .

3. [To face]

Syn. look, aim, tend; see face 4 .

4. [To sharpen]

Syn. taper, whet, barb; see sharpen 1 .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. mark dot, spot, period.

2. location spot, place, position, site.

3. time instant, moment, juncture, stage.

4. tip end, top, nib, head, prick, spike.

5. focus thrust, meaning, idea, core, heart, essence, theme, issue, gist, object.

6. purpose aim, object, goal, end, use, sense, value.

7. argument fact, idea.

II

v.

direct, aim, train, level, guide, draw a bead on.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun 1. A sharp or tapered end: acicula, acumina-tion, apex, cusp, mucro, mucronation, tip1. See SHARP. 2. A very small mark: dash, dot, fleck, pinpoint, speck, spot. See MARKS. 3. A particular portion of space chosen for something: location, locus, place, spot. See PLACE. 4. One of the units in a course, as on an ascending or descending scale: degree, grade, level, peg, rung, stage, step. Informal: notch. See BIG. 5. A transitional interval beyond which some new action or different state of affairs is likely to begin or occur: borderline, brink, edge, threshold, verge. See EDGE. 6. A particular interval of time that is limited and often crucial: instant, juncture, moment. See TIME. 7. What one intends to do or achieve: aim, ambition, design, end, goal, intent, intention, mark, meaning, object, objective, purpose, target, view, why. Idioms: end in view, why and wherefore. See PLANNED, PURPOSE. 8. What a speech, piece of writing, or artistic work is about: argument, matter, subject, subject matter, text, theme, topic. See MEANING. 9. The gist of a specific action or situation: idea, import, meaning, purport, significance, signifi-cancy. See MEANING. 10. A course of reasoning: argument, case. See REASON. 11. An individually considered portion of a whole: article, detail, element, item, particular. See PART. II verb 1. To move (a weapon or blow, for example) in the direction of someone or something: aim, cast, direct, head, level, set1, train, turn, zero in. Military: lay1. See SEEK. 2. To call or direct attention to something: advert, bring up, mention, point out, refer, touch (on or upon). See WORDS. 3. To mark with punctuation: punctuate. See MARKS.