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Synonyms

on the point of

Idioms  

  1. Also, at the point of. On the verge of, close to, as in I was on the point of leaving when the phone rang. The first term dates from the late 1200s, the second from the first half of the 1500s.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Mandera county along Kenya's borders with Ethiopia and Somalia has seen no rain since May and is now on the point of a full-blown water emergency.

From Barron's • Jan. 27, 2026

"The Texans had a system similar to ours - on the point of collapse, running out of prison places in 2007," Ms Mahmood says.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2025

Or on the point of an arm and, if so, which one?

From Science Daily • Nov. 1, 2023

The unsinkable otters laze buoyant on their backs in the pounding white water, and the seabirds hover and settle gently on the point of a rock in the gale, balancing on thin bare legs.

From Washington Post • Jan. 20, 2023

Though it was often predicted in later years that he was on the point of taking the job, however, he never had Ministerial ambitions.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.