pinpoint

[ pin-point ]

/ ˈpɪnˌpɔɪnt /

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See synonyms for: pinpoint / pinpointed / pinpointing on Thesaurus.com

noun

the point of a pin.

a trifle; pinhead.

a tiny spot or sharp point.

verb (used with object)

to locate or describe exactly or precisely: to pinpoint the problem.

adjective

exact; precise: pinpoint accuracy.

OTHER WORDS FOR pinpoint

3 spot, localize, identify, define.

See synonyms for pinpoint on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of pinpoint

First recorded in 1840–50; pin + point

Words nearby pinpoint

Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Pinoy, PIN pad, pin plate, pinpoint, pinpoint bombing, pinprick, pin rail, PINS, pins and needles

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pinpoint in a sentence

These dental care appliances shoot a pinpoint jet of water at teeth to dislodge any food particles—particularly around the wires and brackets of orthodontic appliances.
Water flossers that get between your teeth|PopSci Commerce Team|August 27, 2020|Popular-Science
New techniques, such as machine learning that can quickly winnow through multiple forecasts and pinpoint the most accurate one, may be able to accelerate that timeline.
Improved three-week weather forecasts could save lives from disaster|Alexandra Witze|August 27, 2020|Science News
From the previous points, you now know what metrics to track to pinpoint your problems with website traffic, backlinks, and content quality.
Content marketing fails: How to analyze and improve|Michael Doer|August 27, 2020|Search Engine Watch
It also suggests that wastewater testing could pinpoint emerging outbreaks days earlier than other methods.
Tackling covid|Tate Ryan-Mosley|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review

There’s no blood test to diagnose depression, no brain scan that can pinpoint anxiety before it happens.
Machines can spot mental health issues—if you hand over your personal data|Bobbie Johnson|August 13, 2020|MIT Technology Review
You can almost pinpoint the exact date, or at least to the week, of when that joke was written.
‘Selfie’ Is Both a Brilliant and Terrible TV Show|Kevin Fallon|September 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Your doctor can help pinpoint any potential roadblocks and, in some cases, might prescribe medication to help you ovulate.
Exercise and Fertility: Are You Too Fit to Get Pregnant?|DailyBurn|August 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In this way the missile does not need pinpoint accuracy: widely spread supersonic shrapnel from the warhead is deadly.
MH17 Is the World’s First Open-Source Air Crash Investigation|Clive Irving|July 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What do you think, 10 years from now, you can pinpoint as those days for you?
‘Boyhood’ Star Ellar Coltrane: An Astonishing Debut 12 Years in the Making|Kevin Fallon|July 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And when it is time to fire, Israel retaliates with pinpoint accuracy.
Numbers Don’t Tell the Mideast Story|Thane Rosenbaum|July 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sometimes the Time Observatory would pinpoint an age and hover over it while his companions took painstaking historical notes.
The Man from Time|Frank Belknap Long
They'd never find him because Time was too vast to pinpoint one man in such a vast waste of years.
The Man from Time|Frank Belknap Long
As they walked he tried to pinpoint directions, but because of the darkness he could not do so.
Trading Jeff and his Dog|James Arthur Kjelgaard
It loomed ponderous, dully gleaming in the faint light of a crescent moon and pinpoint stars.
The Last Evolution|John Wood Campbell
Far overhead there was one fleeting glimpse of a pinpoint of dull opalescence reflecting the rays of the dying sun.
The Planetoid of Peril|Paul Ernst

British Dictionary definitions for pinpoint

pinpoint

/ (ˈpɪnˌpɔɪnt) /

verb (tr)

to locate or identify exactlyto pinpoint a problem; to pinpoint a place on a map

noun

an insignificant or trifling thing

the point of a pin

(modifier) exacta pinpoint aim

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

pinpoint

OTHER WORDS FOR pinpoint

Origin of pinpoint

Words nearby pinpoint

Words related to pinpoint

How to use pinpoint in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pinpoint