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Showing results for pointe. Search instead for poine.

pointe

American  
[pwant] / pwɛ̃t /

noun

Ballet.
pointes plural
  1. the tip of the toe.

  2. a position on the extreme tips of the toes.


idioms

  1. on / en pointe, supporting one’s body weight on the extreme tips of the toes: null onen pointes

    dancing on pointe.

pointe British  
/ pɔɪnt /

noun

  1. ballet the tip of the toe (esp in the phrase on pointes )

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of pointe

1820–30; < French: pointe ( du pied ) “tiptoe,” literally, “extremity of the foot”

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.

See Examples For:

At 77, Yoko Morishita is still en pointe.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 24, 2026

The women’s legs and pointe work flash during solo moments and intermix with the moves of their male counterparts during intricate duets.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 3, 2025

“Some of our dancers are not pointe dancers, but they are excellent ballet dancers,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 10, 2024

I want her to read about Ingrid Silva, the Brazilian ballerina from the Dance Theater of Harlem, who, pregnant and in pointe shoes, graced the cover of Vogue Brazil in 2020.

From Salon Aug. 4, 2024

I’m trying out some good old-fashioned Bloch pointe shoes this time.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

Boone scored eight pointes early in the second half as the Cowboys put together a 10-3 run to build a 14-point lead, 50-36 with 10:32 remaining.

From Seattle Times Nov. 17, 2021

Johnson may be old, slow and worn down, but he is never sur les pointes.

From New York Times Aug. 27, 2011

Their ten-month-old daughter Maria, Youskevitch says, "stays on her pointes very good."

From Time Magazine Archive

She swirled in flamencos, glided through a waltz, and in the purple breeches of a matador climaxed a gymnastic bullfight on pointes as delicately as a Russian ballerina.

From Time Magazine Archive

The seconde, by doynge in all pointes the contrary thereto.

From The Sweating Sickness A boke or counseill against the disease commonly called the sweate or sweatyng sicknesse by Caius, John

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