verb
noun
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an insignificant or trifling thing
-
the point of a pin
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(modifier) exact
a pinpoint aim
Etymology
Origin of pinpoint
Explanation
To pinpoint something is to nail down its exact location. The point of a pin is very small and fine. Similarly, when you pinpoint something, you have narrowed down its location to the smallest possibility: you've found out exactly where it is. The government is constantly trying to pinpoint the location of terrorists, just as police try to pinpoint the location of criminals. Dogs can pinpoint many things through smell. It's often hard to pinpoint which car is producing an annoying car alarm. When you pinpoint something, you've found it.
Vocabulary lists containing pinpoint
The Circuit
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Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein
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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.
The company, for instance, can pinpoint the location of a ship that turns off its GPS transponder—if it uses its navigation radar.
From Barron's • May 7, 2026
It can be difficult to pinpoint the factors reflected in retail gas prices because they differ among regions.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
Experts say such calculations are almost always exaggerated and that the true numbers are difficult to pinpoint.
From Salon • Apr. 30, 2026
He was using a fitness app that tracked his movements with pinpoint accuracy, and the digital trail was stored in his Google account.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026
Once we crossed the cement bridge, which went over a dry river bed for a quarter of a mile, I stretched my neck and tried to pinpoint the location of Bonetti Ranch.
From "The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child" by Francisco Jiménez
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.
