Library / English Dictionary

PINPOINT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The sharp point of a pin

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pinpoint" is a kind of...):

point (sharp end)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A very small spot

Example:

the plane was just a speck in the sky

Synonyms:

pinpoint; speck

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("pinpoint" is a kind of...):

dapple; fleck; maculation; patch; speckle; spot (a small contrasting part of something)

Derivation:

pinpoint (locate exactly)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A very brief moment

Example:

they were strangers sharing a pinpoint of time together

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Hypernyms ("pinpoint" is a kind of...):

instant; minute; moment; second (a particular point in time)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Locate exactly

Example:

The chemists could not nail the identity of the chromosome

Synonyms:

nail; pinpoint

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "pinpoint" is one way to...):

locate; turn up (discover the location of; determine the place of; find by searching or examining)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

pinpoint (a very small spot)

Credits

 Context examples: 

While a few other FRBs have been detected, what makes this one unique is that it was heard again in 2015, and its location pinpointed a year later.

(Mysterious Radio Signals Detected from Deep Space, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Dr Meritxell Huch, who led the research, said: Our finding pinpoints TET1 as the protein that enables plasticity of the ductal cells and their regenerative capacity in response to injury.

(Regeneration mechanism discovered in mice could provide target for drugs to combat chronic liver disease, University of Cambridge)

Initial analysis of these spectra suggested the presence of heavy elements in the kilonova, but astronomers could not pinpoint individual elements until now.

(First identification of a heavy element born from neutron star collision, ESO)

Detecting the amplification of a single, pinpoint background star provided a unique opportunity to test the nature of dark matter in the cluster.

(Hubble Uncovers the Farthest Star Ever Seen, NASA)

A series of analyses pinpointed 10 lipids, or fats, that differed between those who were cognitively impaired, healthy people who later “converted,” and participants who remained healthy.

(Study Points to Possible Blood Test For Memory Decline, Alzheimer’s, NIH)

Purple or red hemorrhagic pinpoint spots in the skin or mucous membranes.

(Petechia, NCI Thesaurus)

The gamma-ray source pinpointed in this new study, called HESS J1640-465, is one of the most luminous discovered so far.

(Pulse of a Dead Star Powers Intense Gamma Rays, NASA)

This has made it difficult for researchers to pinpoint how many different scents, or olfactory stimuli, we can distinguish.

(Humans Can Identify More Than 1 Trillion Smells, NIH, US)

For decades, scientists have recognized that more nitrogen accumulates in soils and plants than can be explained by input from the atmosphere alone, but researchers couldn't pinpoint what was missing.

(New source of global nitrogen discovered: Earth’s bedrock, National Science Foundation)

In November 2018 the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope pinpointed a fast radio burst, named FRB 181112.

(Enigmatic radio burst illuminates a galaxy’s tranquil ​halo, ESO)