- point
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 thing said as part of a discussionADJECTIVE▪ excellent, good, interesting, valid▪ important▪ minor▪ subtle▪ moot▪ central, critical, crucial, key, major, salient▪ controversial▪ sore▪
This was a sore point for Hemingway.
▪ action▪The committee recommended a number of action points to avoid such problems in the future.
▪ talking▪The possibility of an interest rate cut is a major talking point in the City. (BrE)
▪Senate Democrats issued these talking points. (AmE)
▪ final▪I do agree with her final point.
VERB + POINT▪ have▪She has a point.
▪ see, take▪I see your point.
▪Point taken.
▪ concede▪ address, cover, make, raise▪He covers the key points in his introduction.
▪She made some interesting points.
▪ argue, discuss▪They argued the point for hours.
▪ illustrate▪ get across, make, prove▪He had trouble getting his point across.
▪That proves my point.
▪ clarify▪ belabour/belabor (esp. AmE), drive home, emphasize, hammer home, highlight, labour/labor (esp. BrE), press, reinforce, reiterate, stress, underline, underscore (AmE)▪She banged on the table to emphasize her point.
▪I understand what you're saying—there's no need to labour/labor the point.
PHRASES▪ a case in point (= an example relevant to the matter being discussed)▪ the point at issue▪ a point of agreement, a point of disagreement▪ a point of law2 the point essential aspect of sthADJECTIVE▪ basic▪The basic point is that …
VERB + THE POINT▪ come to, get to▪Hurry up and get to the point!
▪ get▪It took me a few minutes to get the point.
▪ miss▪ wander from, wander off (both esp. BrE)PREPOSITION▪ beside the point (= not relevant)▪That's beside the point.
▪ to the point▪His remarks were brief and to the point.
PHRASES▪ more to the point (= what is more important)▪More to the point, did they get away?
3 meaning/reason/purpose of sthADJECTIVE▪ whole▪That's the whole point.
VERB + POINT▪ have▪It doesn't have any point to it.
▪ see▪I don't see the point in arguing.
▪ get, understand▪I didn't get the point of the story.
PREPOSITION▪ point in, point of▪There's absolutely no point in complaining now.
▪What's the point of worrying?
4 item/detail/featureADJECTIVE▪ finer, good, strong▪We discussed the finer points of growing roses.
▪ bad, weak▪ salient▪ selling▪the major selling point of the line
PHRASES▪ a point of difference▪There is only one point of difference between the two models.
▪ a point of interest5 particular time/momentADJECTIVE▪ high, low▪He had reached the high point of his career.
▪ halfway▪by the time the movie has reached its halfway point
▪ breaking, bursting, saturation▪to fill a bag to bursting point
▪ jumping-off▪jumping-off points for further research
▪ break-even▪well below its financial break-even point
▪ plot▪from one improbable plot point to another
▪ boiling, freezing, melting▪ critical▪This is definitely a critical point in my life right now.
▪ choke (AmE), sticking▪The choke point was overcoming the social issues.
▪a sticking point in the potential deal
▪ flash▪Their anger finally reached the flash point.
VERB + POINT▪ get to, reach▪I've reached the point (= in a book, etc.) where his father is dying.
POINT + VERB▪ come▪There comes a point in most people's lives when they want to settle down.
PREPOSITION▪ at a/the point▪At one point he looked like winning.
▪ on the point of▪on the point of departure
▪ to the point of▪We worked all night to the point of collapse.
▪ up to a point▪I agree with you up to a point.
PHRASES▪ a point in time▪At this point we can't give you a final answer.
▪ the point of no return (= after which it is impossible to go back/undo what you have done)6 particular place/positionADJECTIVE▪ central, focal▪the focal point of his life
▪ fixed▪ beginning (esp. AmE), starting▪This website is an excellent beginning point for any pianist.
▪ ending, stopping▪the starting and ending point for most safaris
▪one stopping point on their tour of the shrines
▪ halfway, midway▪a convenient midway point between Memphis and St. Louis
▪ access, entry▪an excellent access point into Glacier National Park
▪ assembly, rallying▪ meeting, rendezvous▪ crossing▪Baja California is the crossing point for most illegal immigrants to the US.
▪ vantage▪ reference▪ pivotal, turning▪This proved to be the turning point of the game.
▪ tipping▪The technology has reached a tipping point.
▪ cut-off▪ vanishing▪ price (business)▪The product sold at about a $100 price point.
▪ acupuncture, pressure▪Acupuncture points are believed to stimulate the central nervous system.
▪pressures points on the foot
VERB + POINT▪ arrive at, reach▪ provide▪The book provides a focal point for such discussions.
PHRASES▪ a point of contact▪ a point of reference7 punctuationADJECTIVE▪ decimal▪ exclamation (AmE)▪ bullet▪Break up your text with bullet points.
8 in a game/sports competitionADJECTIVE▪ match, set▪It's set point to Nadal.
▪ bonus▪Name the film and, for a bonus point, name the actress.
… OF POINT▪ tally▪a personal tally of 28 points
VERB + POINT▪ accumulate, earn, gain, get, notch (AmE), notch up, rack up, score, tally (AmE), win▪After players accumulate enough points, they may exchange them for a wide variety of merchandise.
▪ average▪She's averaged 19 points per game in her last seven games.
▪ lose▪ award▪Points are awarded to the winner of each round.
▪ deduct▪I'm deducting a point from the total score.
PHRASES▪ beat sb on points, win on points9 measurementADJECTIVE▪ basis, percentage▪The ten-year Treasury yield declined 9 basis points to 4.0%.
▪Interest rates fell by one percentage point.
VERB + POINT▪ (All these verbs may be followed by by, from or to plus point. Sometimes the word by is left out.), be up, go up, improve, increase, jump, rise, shoot up, soar▪The Nikkei index rose 710 points to 14894.
▪His popularity rose by 18 points in public opinion polls.
▪ be down, come down, decline (esp. AmE), decrease, drop, fall, go down, plunge▪The CAC-40 index is down 67 points at 4413.
PHRASES▪ about five, ten, etc. points, around five, ten, etc. points▪ only five, ten, etc. points▪The index was down only 4.6 points at the close.
▪ over five, ten, etc. points▪ up to five, ten, etc. points▪ an improvement of five, ten, etc. points, an increase of five, ten, etc. points, a jump of five, ten, etc. points, a rise of five, ten, etc. points▪The target is for an average rise of two points a year from 2010 to 2020.
▪ a drop of five, ten, etc. points, a fall of five, ten, etc. points, a reduction of five, ten, etc. points10 thin sharp end of sthADJECTIVE▪ fine, sharp{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}verbADVERB▪ accusingly▪Lee pointed accusingly at Tyler.
▪ downwards/downward, upwards/upward▪ aheadPREPOSITION▪ at, in the direction of▪He pointed in the direction of the beach.
▪ to, towards/toward▪The toddler pointed to the toy he wanted.
▪ with▪She pointed with her finger at the map.
PHRASES▪ point straight at sb/sth▪The gun was pointing straight at me.
▪ point the way▪‘You must cross that field,’ she said, pointing the way.
PHRASAL VERBSpoint sth outADVERB▪ correctly, rightly▪As you so rightly pointed out, our funds are not unlimited.
▪ helpfully▪ repeatedly▪as repeatedly pointed out by President Bush
VERB + POINT OUT▪ must, should▪I should point out that not one of these paintings is original.
▪ try to▪ hasten to▪Let me to hasten to point out that this is not a marketing book.
▪ fail to▪ hesitate to▪They would not hesitate to point out anything they found objectionable.
▪ be at pains to, be keen to (esp. BrE), be quick to▪She was at pains to point out that she was no newcomer to the area.
▪ be right to▪You were right to point out that this is only one of the difficulties we face.
▪ be important toPREPOSITION▪ to▪She tried in vain to point out to him the unfairness of the situation.
point to sthADVERB▪ clearly▪Fragments of woven cloth at the site clearly point to the production of textiles.
▪ directly▪The symptoms point directly to appendicitis.
VERB + POINT TO▪ seem to▪The evidence all seems to point to one conclusion.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
