point noun
1 thing said as part of a discussion
ADJ. good, interesting, valid | important | minor | subtle | moot | central, crucial, key, major, salient | controversial | talking The possibility of an interest rate cut is a major talking point in the City.
VERB + POINT have She's got a point. | see, take I see your point. Point taken. | concede | cover, make, raise 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. | drive/hammer home, emphasize, labour, press, stress I understand what you're saying?there's no need to labour the point.
PHRASES a case in point (= an example relevant to the matter being discussed), the point at issue, a point of agreement/disagreement, a point of law > Special page at MEETING
2 the point: essential aspect of sth
ADJ. basic The basic point is that …
VERB + POINT come/get to Hurry up and get to the point! | get It took me a few minutes to get the point. | miss | wander from/off
PREP. beside the ~ (= not relevant) That's beside the point. | to the ~ 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 sth
ADJ. 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.
PREP. ~ in/of There's absolutely no point in complaining now. What's the point of worrying?
4 item/detail/feature
ADJ. finer, good, strong We discussed the finer points of growing roses. | bad, weak | salient
PHRASES a point of difference, a point of interest
5 particular time/moment
ADJ. high He had reached the high point of his career. | low | breaking, bursting, saturation to fill a bag to bursting point | boiling, freezing, melting
VERB + POINT get to, reach I've got to 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.
PREP. at a/the ~ At one point he looked like winning. | on the ~ of on the point of departure | to the ~ of We worked all night to the point of collapse. | up to a ~ 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/position
ADJ. central, focal the focal point of his life | fixed | assembly, meeting, rallying | starting | vantage | reference | turning This proved to be the turning point of the game. | cut-off | pressure | vanishing
VERB + POINT arrive at, reach
PHRASES a point of contact, a point of reference
7 punctuation
ADJ. decimal
8 in a game/sports competition
ADJ. match, set It's set point to Henman.
VERB + POINT get, score, win | lose
PHRASES beat sb/win on points
9 measurement
ADJ. percentage Interest rates fell by one percentage point. VERB + POINT (All the verbs in the following collocate groups may be followed by by, from or to plus point. Sometimes the word by is left out.), be/go/shoot up, improve, increase, jump, rise, soar The Nikkei index rose 710 points to 14894. His popularity rose by 18 points in public opinion polls. | be/come/go down, deline, decrease, depreciate, drop, fall, plummet, plunge The CAC-40 index is down 67 points at 4413.
PHRASES about/around/only/over/up to 10, 20, etc. points The index was down only 4.6 points at the close. | an improvement/an increase/a jump/a rise of 10, 20, etc. points to achieve an improvement of over 4.6 points in operating ratio | a drop/fall/reduction of 10, 20, etc. points 10 thin sharp end of sth
ADJ. fine, sharp