noun a switch.
2. point ·noun to mark (as hebrew) with vowel points.
3. point ·noun one of the spaces on a backgammon board.
4. point ·noun to cut, as a surface, with a pointed tool.
5. point ·noun hence, to direct the attention or notice of.
6. point ·noun to indicate or discover by a fixed look, as game.
7. point ·noun a tyne or snag of an antler.
8. point ·vt & ·vi to appoint.
9. point ·noun a dot or mark used to designate certain tones or time.
10. point ·add. ·noun the position of the pitcher and catcher.
11. point ·noun an item of private information; a hint; a tip; a pointer.
12. point ·noun a movement executed with the saber or foil; as, tierce point.
13. point ·noun a small matter; a trifle; a least consideration; a punctilio.
14. point ·noun a a string or lace used to tie together certain parts of the dress.
15. point ·noun an indivisible portion of time; a moment; an instant; hence, the verge.
xvi. point ·noun the mark made by the end of a sharp, piercing instrument, as a needle; a prick.
xvii. point ·add. ·noun act of pointing, as of the foot downward in certain dance positions.
xviii. point ·noun lace wrought the needle; as, point de venise; brussels point. ·see point lace, below.
xix. point ·vi to indicate the presence of game by fixed and steady look, as certain hunting dogs do.
xx. point ·noun one of the several different parts of the escutcheon. ·see escutcheon.
xxi. point ·noun to supply with punctuation marks; to punctuate; as, to point a composition.
xxii. point ·noun a short piece of cordage used in reefing sails. ·see reef point, under reef.
xxiii. point ·add. ·noun the perpendicular rising of a hawk over the place where its prey has gone into cover.
xxiv. point ·add. ·noun in various games, a position of a certain player, or, by extension, the player himself;.
xxv. point ·vi to approximate to the surface; to head;
said of an abscess.
xxvi. point ·noun to direct toward an abject; to aim; as, to point a gun at a wolf, or a cannon at a fort.
xxvii. point ·add. ·noun a pointed piece of quill or bone covered at one end with vaccine matter;
called also vaccine point.
xxviii. point ·add. ·noun a spot to which a straight run is made; hence, a straight run from point to point; a cross-country run.
xxix. point ·noun a fielder who is stationed on the off side, about twelve or fifteen yards from, and a little in advance of, the batsman.
xxx. point ·noun the attitude assumed by a pointer dog when he finds game; as, the dog came to a point. ·see pointer.
xxxi. point ·noun that which pricks or pierces; the sharp end of anything, ·esp. the sharp end of a piercing instrument, as a needle or a pin.
xxxii. point ·noun to fill up and finish the joints of (a wall), by introducing additional cement or mortar, and bringing it to a smooth surface.
xxxiii. point ·noun to give particular prominence to; to designate in a special manner; to indicate, as if by pointing; as, the error was pointed out.
xxxiv. point ·vi to direct the point of something, as of a finger, for the purpose of designating an object, and attracting attention to it;
with at.
xxxv. point ·add. ·noun the position of the player of each side who stands a short distance in front of the goal keeper; also, the player himself.
xxxvi. point ·noun a dot or mark distinguishing or characterizing certain tones or styles; as, points of perfection, of augmentation, ·etc.; hence, a note; a tune.
xxxvii. point ·noun one of the points of the compass (see points of the compass, below); also, the difference between two points of the compass; as, to fall off a point.
xxxviii. point ·noun a standard unit of measure for the size of type bodies, being one twelfth of the thickness of pica type. ·see point system of type, under type.
xxxix. point ·noun anything which tapers to a sharp, well-defined termination. specifically: a small promontory or cape; a tract of land extending into the water beyond the common shore line.
xl. point ·noun to give a point to; to sharpen; to cut, forge, grind, or file to an acute end; as, to point a dart, or a pencil. used also figuratively; as, to point a moral.
xli. point ·noun a dot placed at the right hand of a note, to raise its value, or prolong its time, by one half, as to make a whole note equal to three half notes, a half note equal to three quarter notes.
xlii. point ·noun an instrument which pricks or pierces, as a sort of needle used by engravers, etchers, lace workers, and others; also, a pointed cutting tool, as a stone cutter's point;
called also pointer.
xliii. point ·noun hence, the most prominent or important feature, as of an argument, discourse, ·etc.; the essential matter; ·esp., the proposition to be established; as, the point of an anecdote.
xliv. point ·noun that which arrests attention, or indicates qualities or character; a salient feature; a characteristic; a peculiarity; hence, a particular; an item; a detail; as, the good or bad points of a man, a horse, a book, a story, ·etc.
xlv. point ·noun a mark of punctuation; a character used to mark the divisions of a composition, or the pauses to be observed in reading, or to point off groups of figures, ·etc.; a stop, as a comma, a semicolon, and ·esp. a period; hence, figuratively, an end, or conclusion.
xlvi. point ·noun whatever serves to mark progress, rank, or relative position, or to indicate a transition from one state or position to another, degree; step; stage; hence, position or condition attained; as, a point of elevation, or of depression; the stock fell off five points; he won by tenpoints.
xlvii. point ·noun an indefinitely small space; a mere spot indicated or supposed. specifically: (geom.) that which has neither parts nor magnitude; that which has position, but has neither length, breadth, nor thickness, sometimes conceived of as the limit of a line; that by the motion of which a line is conceived to be produced.
xlviii. point ·noun a fixed conventional place for reference, or zero of reckoning, in the heavens, usually the intersection of two or more great circles of the sphere, and named specifically in each case according to the position intended; as, the equinoctial points; the solstitial points; the nodal points; vertical points, ·etc. ·see equinoctial nodal.
xlix. point ·add. ·noun one of the raised dots used in certain systems of printing and writing for the blind. the first practical system was that devised by louis braille in 1829, and still used in europe (see braille). two modifications of this are current in the united states: new york point founded on three bases of equidistant points arranged in two lines (viz., : :: :::), and a later improvement, american braille, embodying the braille base (:::) and the new-york-point principle of using the characters of few points for the commonest letters.