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point of view

American  
[point uhv vyoo] / ˈpɔɪnt əv ˈvyu /

noun

  1. a specified or stated manner of consideration or appraisal; standpoint: POV

    from the point of view of a doctor.

  2. an opinion, attitude, or judgment: POV

    He refuses to change his point of view in the matter.

  3. the position of the narrator in relation to the story, as indicated by the narrator's outlook from which the events are depicted and by the attitude toward the characters. POV

  4. Movies. a method of shooting a scene or film that expresses the attitude of the director or writer toward the material or of a character in a scene. POV

point of view British  

noun

  1. a position from which someone or something is observed

  2. a mental viewpoint or attitude

  3. the mental position from which a story is observed or narrated

    the omniscient point of view
"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
point of view Idioms  

  1. An attitude or standpoint, how one sees or thinks of something. For example, From the manufacturer's point of view, the critical issue is cost. This expression, originally alluding to one's vantage point in seeing a building or painting or other object, dates from the early 1700s.

Etymology

Origin of point of view

First recorded in 1720–30

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.

“Faces of Death” is so steeped in the computer monitor’s point of view that, ultimately, the internet isn’t merely the defendant on trial — it’s also the judge and jury.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

But Artemis is entire collaboration of dozens of countries from around the world -- and it's an important difference from that point of view.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

“From Pakistan’s point of view, it’s a win-win. Whether there is a deal or there isn’t,” said Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistani ambassador to the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

"And it's pretty obvious to me that we are experiencing more extremes in our weather from the point of view of trying to run this farm."

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

He very naturally fell to studying her from this new point of view, and before the evening was half over, had decided that ‘little Amy was going to make a very charming woman’.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

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.