pointer
[poin-ter]
- a person or thing that points.
- a long, tapering stick used by teachers, lecturers, etc., in pointing things out on a map, blackboard, or the like.
- the hand on a watch dial, clock face, scale, etc.
- Military. the member of an artillery crew who aims the weapon.
- one of a breed of short-haired hunting dogs trained to point game.
- a piece of advice, especially on how to succeed in a specific area: The food expert gave some good pointers on making better salads.
- Computers.
- an identifier giving the location in storage of something of interest, as a data item, table, or subroutine.
- cursor(def 1).
- Pointers, Astronomy. the two outer stars of the Big Dipper that lie on a line that passes very near Polaris and are used for finding it.
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Origin of pointer
Synonyms
See more synonyms for pointer on Thesaurus.com6. tip, hint, suggestion, caution.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for pointer
Contemporary Examples
Turn him belly-up and stroke him to sleep with your pointer finger.
Pointer Brand, a 100-year-old American farmwear staple, has recently become popular among international trendsetting men.
Pointer, founded in Bristol, Tennessee, by Landon Clayton King, was never intended to draw fashionable chatter.
In Europe, Pointer is stocked in stores with names like Americana and Yankee Doodle.
When Tony takes over Danny's body, his voice begins to croak and he shakes his pointer finger for emphasis.
Historical Examples
In this case the indication of the pointer must be divided by ten.
With the pointer in his hand he touched the star at the apex of the fir.
Bride of the MistletoeJames Lane Allen
In each figure the pointer is over one of the red lines on the scale.
The Automobile Storage BatteryO. A. Witte
Cowper ran in and out among the plunder, like a pointer in a turnip field.
RomanceJoseph Conrad and F.M. Hueffer
The angle of the pointer, or style, must be changed for each latitude.
Boy Scouts HandbookBoy Scouts of America
pointer
- a person or thing that points
- an indicator on a measuring instrument
- a long rod or cane used by a lecturer to point to parts of a map, blackboard, etc
- one of a breed of large swift smooth-coated dogs, usually white with black, liver, or lemon markings: when on shooting expeditions it points to the bird with its nose, body, and tail in a straight line
- a helpful piece of information or advice
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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
Word Origin and History for pointer
n.
mid-14c., "a tiler" (early 13c. as a surname), agent noun from point (v.). From c.1500 as "maker of needlepoint lace." From 1570s as "thing that points;" meaning "dog that stands rigid in the presence of game, facing the quarry" is recorded from 1717. Meaning "item of advice" first recorded 1883.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper