pinpoint

See also: pin-point

English

Alternative forms

• pin-point

Etymology

From pin +‎ point.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɪnpɔɪnt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

pinpoint (plural pinpoints)

1. The point of a pin.
2. Something infinitesimal; a tiny point.
   • 2012, Caspar Henderson, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, page 364:

     What was once an astonishing, one-off discovery in 2005 may prove to be just a pinpoint in a global distribution of animals of which we previously knew nothing.

Translations

point of a pin

• Bulgarian: връх на карфица (vrǎh na karfica)
• Catalan: punxa d'agulla f
• Finnish: nuppineulan kärki, neulan kärki
• German: Nadelspitze (de) f, Pinspitze f

Adjective

pinpoint (comparative more pinpoint, superlative most pinpoint)

1. Extremely precise or specific, especially regarding location.

   The machine assembles parts at high speed and with pinpoint accuracy.

   • 2011 January 5, Saj Chowdhury, “Newcastle 0 - 0 West Ham”, in BBC‎^[1]:

     The 28-year-old not only hassled the visitors' midfield but also delivered pinpoint balls with alarming accuracy as far as the east Londoners were concerned.

Translations

extremely precise

• Bulgarian: прецизен (bg) (precizen), с голяма точност (s goljama točnost)
• Finnish: erittäin tarkka, erittäin täsmällinen

Verb

pinpoint (third-person singular simple present pinpoints, present participle pinpointing, simple past and past participle pinpointed)

1. (transitive) To identify or locate (someone or something) precisely or with great accuracy.

   The investigators tried to pinpoint the source of the flames.

   • 2017 November 7, Bernadette Rainey, Elizabeth Wicks, Clare Ovey, Jacobs, White, and Ovey. The European Convention on Human Rights, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 411:

     It would defeat the purpose of secret surveillance if individuals were able to pinpoint exactly when the police were likely to be listening in on their conversations and adapt their behaviour accordingly, and the [European] Court [of Human Rights] has not interpreted Article 8 to require that this information should be provided to individuals, either before, during, or after they have been the subject of surveillance measures.

Translations

locate precisely

• Catalan: especificar (ca)
• Czech: vymezit
• Danish: fastslå (da)
• Finnish: määrittää tarkemmin, paikantaa (fi)
• French: localiser (fr) (literally “locate”), identifier (fr) (literally “identify”)
• German: genau verorten, ausmitteln (Classical German)

Anagrams

• nip point