Point can refer to:

Look up Point in Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Mathematics

In mathematics:

• Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space but no extent
  • Fixed point (mathematics), a point that is mapped to itself by a mathematical function
  • Point at infinity
  • Point group
  • Point charge, an idealized model of a particle which has an electric charge
• Solution point
• Percentage point, one hundredth
  • Point in a mortgage, one percent of the loan amount
  • Point and figure chart, used for technical analysis of percentages in securities
• Floating point and fixed-point arithmetic
• an element in the base set of a structure, in topology and other fields

A spatial point is an entity with a location in space but no extent (volume, area or length). ... In mathematics, a fixed point of a function is a point that is mapped to itself by the function. ... The point at infinity, also called ideal point, is a point which when added to the real number line yields a closed curve called the real projective line, . Nota Bene: The real projective line is not equivalent to the extended real number line. ... In mathematics, point group is a group of geometric symmetries (isometries) leaving a point fixed. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... In mathematics, the solution point is a point that satisfies an equation. ... Percentage points are the proper unit for the arithmetic difference of two percentages. ... Point in a Mortgage If for a $100,000 loan, the [percentage] points are 1. ... A point and figure chart is used for technical analysis of securities. ... A floating-point number is a digital representation for a number in a certain subset of the rational numbers, and is often used to approximate an arbitrary real number on a computer. ... It has been suggested that Discrete number be merged into this article or section. ... In mathematics, a set can be thought of as any collection of distinct things considered as a whole. ...

Measurement

• Point (typography), a printing measurement, the meaning of which has changed over time
• In navigation:
  • Point, one eighth of a right angle (11.25 degrees)
  • Compass point, one of the 32 directions on a traditional compass
  • Points of sail, a sailing boat's course in relation to wind direction
• A unit of scoring in some sports and games
  • Point (tennis)
  • Point (ice hockey)
  • Extra point, in American and Canadian football
  • Point count, a method of hand evaluation in the card game of bridge
  • Point shaving, an illegal form of match fixing
  • In Australian Football, a "point" often refers to a behind
• Point (gemstone), equivalent to one-hundredth of a carat
• Point blanket, a trading item measured by the number of stripes ("points") woven into the material

A point is a unit of measure in typography (Abbreviated as pt). There are various sorts of points, used in particular locations and times: Fournier point: the first definition of the printers point, by Pierre Fournier. ... There are several traditions of navigation. ... Boxing the compass is the action of naming all thirty-two principal points of the compass in clockwise order. ... Points of sail is the term used to describe a sailing boats course in relation to the wind direction. ... A point is the smallest unit of scoring in tennis. ... Point in ice hockey has two meanings: When it is given to individual hockey players, it refers to either a goal or assist a player earns during a game. ... In American football, the extra point, point after touchdown, or PAT is the act of lining up to kick, as in a field goal, immediately following a touchdown. ... The point count is the fundamental method of hand evaluation now used in the card game of bridge. ... Point shaving, in organized sports, is a type of match fixing where the perpetrators try to prevent a team from covering a published point spread. ... In Australian rules football a behind is scored when the ball passes through the left behind post and the right goal post, or the right behind post and the left goal post. ... The carat is a unit of mass used for gems, and equals 200 milligrams. ... Hudsons Bay point blankets A Hudsons Bay point blanket was a type of wool blanket traded by the Hudsons Bay Company in western Canada and the United States during the 18th and 19th century. ...

Geography

• A promontory extended into a body of water
  • Point break, the way ocean waves break around a point
• A bluff or natural overlook

The term promontory has several similar meanings in English, including geographical names: A promontory is a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water (e. ... Point Break is a 1991 film starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, and directed by Kathryn Bigelow. ... This article is about the New Zealand town of Bluff. ...

Technology

• Points, a railroad switch (British English)
• Points; contact breaker in an ignition system

Double switch aka scissors crossovers A railroad switch (known in British and Australian English as (a set of) points or, in technical usage, a turnout) is a mechanical installation provided at a point where rail track A divides into two tracks B and C. It can be set in either... Breaker arm with contact points at the left. ...

Location

• Point mutation, a mutation at a specific position on a gene
• Point of view, the perspective from an individual's standpoint
• Point of sale, in merchandising, the location where a transaction occurs
• Point of presence, an interface point between communications entities
• Point-to-point and point-to-multipoint, types of wireless data communications
• Point-to-point construction, a method of soldering electronic components
• Point source, a source of light, fluid flow, or pollution

A point mutation, or substitution, is a type of mutation that causes the replacement of a single base nucleotide with another nucleotide. ... A point of view, viewpoint or POV, is the following: On a given topic, a point of view is a cognitive perspective. ... POS must not be confused with EFT/POS and POS Terminal used in Electronic payment POS or PoS is an acronym for point-of-sale (or point of purchase). ... A point-of-presence (POP) is an artificial demarcation or interface point between communications entities. ... Point-to-Point telecommunications is most recently (2003) referenced regarding wireless data communications for Internet or Voice over IP via radio frequencies in the multi-gigahertz range. ... Point-to-multipoint (PT2MP) telecommunications is most typically (2003) used in wireless Internet and IP Telephony via gigahertz radio frequencies. ... Point-to-point construction is the way most electronics were constructed before the 1950s. ... A point source may be a source of light that is treated as having no physical extension, or a source in fluid flow, or in electrostatics, or a source of pollution coming from a single cause, such as a municipal plant. ...

Aim

• Point-and-click, computer mouse terminology
• Point and shoot camera
• Point-blank range, in ballistics, the range where pointing is sufficient, and gravity and wind can be ignored
• Point shooting, a method of aiming firearms

Point and click describes the simple action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen (point) and then clicking a mouse button, usually the left one (click), or other pointing device. ... A point and shoot camera with a zoom lens and built in flash A point and shoot camera, also called a compact camera, is a still camera designed primarily for simple operation. ... Point-blank range is the distance between a gun and a target such that it requires minimal effort in aiming it, in particular no allowance needs to be made for the effects of gravity, target movement or wind in aiming the projectile. ... Point shooting is a method of shooting that relies on a shooters instinctive reactions and kinematics to quickly engage close targets. ...

Extremity

• An individual at the furthest forward position in a group:
  • In reconnaissance, the soldier or team at the head of a patrol, column, or convoy
  • In sports, the team member who plays furthest forward:
    • Point guard, in basketball
    • Point, in cricket
    • The point (ice hockey)
• En pointe, dancing on the toes, in ballet
• Points (coat color), fur coloration of the extremities, in cats
• Extreme points of the world, the highest, most inaccessible, farthest north, south, etc.

Mixed reconnaissance patrol of the Polish Home Army and the Soviet Red Army during Operation Tempest, 1944 Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering of information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical observation. ... Steve Nash is one of todays best point guards. ... Fielding in the sport of cricket is what fielders do to collect the ball when it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running... In ice hockey, a player in the opponents end zone at the junction of the blue line with the boards is said to be at the point. ... cut away of a pointe shoe. ... This article or section should be merged with points (fur color) Point coloration, often mistakenly called Siamese coloring this pattern is seen not only in Siameses, but also in the Himalayan, Birman, Balinese, Colorpoint Shorthair, American Bobtail, American Curl, Oriental Shorthair, Ragdoll, Cornish Rex, Devon Rex, Selkirk Rex, Siberian, Exotic... It has been suggested that The worlds most northern be merged into this article or section. ...

Place name

• Point, Outer Hebrides, a district of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland
• Points, West Virginia

Point (gaelic -An Rubha), is also known as the Eye Peninsula and is connected to the rest of the Isle of Lewis by a narrow isthmus, one mile in length and barely 100 metres wide. ... Old Points Post Office at the Crossroads. ...

Other

• Point and counterpoint, meaning or purpose, especially in a discussion or dispute
  • Point of order, a matter raised during a debate concerning the rules of debating themselves
• Point, in typography, a dot character (e.g.: full stop; middle dot) as in the expression, decimal point

The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Purpose is deliberately thought-through goal-directedness. ... A Point of Order is a matter raised during a debate concerning the rules of debating themselves. ... Dot can refer to several different characters: full stop, or period, primarily used in writing to end a sentence. ... A full stop or period, also called a full point, is the punctuation mark commonly placed at the end of several different types of sentences in English and several other languages. ... A middle dot is one of several types of dots that occur in the middle of a character space, such as the examples in the following table. ... The decimal separator is used to mark the boundary between the integer and the fractional parts of a decimal numeral. ...

See also

• Pointer (disambiguation)
• Point of no return (disambiguation)
• Tipping point
• Turning point
• Vanishing point