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