verb
noun
-
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 month-on-month inflation suggests the deflationary pressure in the manufacturing sector may have become less severe,” said Zhiwei Zhang, an economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026
The latest drop "reflects the weak property sector investment as well as lacklustre infrastructure investment", wrote Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, in a note.
From Barron's • Nov. 14, 2025
Chinese exporters had been "frontloading their trade in order to avoid high tariffs in the US", Zhiwei Zhang, economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said in a note.
From Barron's • Nov. 7, 2025
"I thought tariffs would be cut to somewhere around 50%," Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management in Hong Kong, told Reuters news agency.
From BBC • May 12, 2025
“The government sent a positive signal to the market by keeping these senior financial experts in the cabinet,” said Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.
From Reuters • Mar. 12, 2023
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.
