pin·point
ˈpin-ˌpȯint 
1
: something that is extremely small or insignificant
2
: the point of a pin
3
: an extremely small or sharp point
1
: extremely fine or precise
2
: located, fixed, or directed with extreme precision
pinpoint targets
3
: small as a pinpoint
pinpointed; pinpointing; pinpoints
1
: to locate or aim with great precision or accuracy
pinpoint a source
2
a
: to fix, determine, or identify with precision
pinpoint the cause
b
: to cause to stand out conspicuously : highlight
Synonyms
Examples of pinpoint in a Sentence
Adjective
The pitcher showed pinpoint control of his fastball.
the pinpoint measurement of brain tumors is critically important
Verb
They were finally able to pinpoint the cause of the fire.
He pinpointed the city on the map.
Rescuers were able to pinpoint where the lost girl was.
The military uses computer imaging to pinpoint targets.
Recent Examples on the Web
Gus Alexiou, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Squeezing in the more than 100 additional components necessary to have a modern-style wristwatch strike with pinpoint accuracy and rich, clear peals — each watch sounds subtly different — is considered the height of horological craft, and most companies abandoned such complex models long ago.
—Nancy Hass, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024
Check In only pinpoints the destination on the map.
—Brenda Stolyar, WIRED, 5 Mar. 2024
Time had not dimmed his ability to toss papers from the sidewalk onto porches with pinpoint accuracy.
—Frederick N. Rasmussen, Baltimore Sun, 6 Feb. 2024
Space probes typically aim for landing sites that are at least several miles wide, but JAXA said the achievement of a pinpoint landing opens up new opportunities.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 25 Jan. 2024
The coordinates that Near Intelligence collected and left exposed online pinpoint locations to within a few centimeters of space.
—Dhruv Mehrotra, WIRED, 28 Mar. 2024
Just a few weeks ago Japan's 'Moon Sniper' rover made a pinpoint landing, making Japan only the fourth nation to successfully soft-land on the moon, joining the U.S, China and the Soviet Union.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024
Blitzed by an onslaught of pinpoint Morgan Cheli passes, quick McKenna Woliczko layups and relentless defensive pressure from all sides, O’Dowd joined an ever-growing list of programs to be crushed this season by the San Jose private school.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 16 Jan. 2024
Stephen Jay Gould, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019
Saturday’s maneuver required pinpoint hand-eye coordination, body control and a flourish of power.
—Phil Thompson, SFChronicle.com, 16 Feb. 2020
Those partnerships would be able to collect more detailed data that could more finely pinpoint actual demand by neighborhoods.
—BostonGlobe.com, 5 Nov. 2019
Ice pick acne scars are small, narrow, pinpoint acne scars that penetrate deep into the skin, according to Gross.
—Audrey Noble, Harper's BAZAAR, 21 Jan. 2019
In some cities, like Houston and Dallas, utilities have already undertaken to upgrade their systems with new, digital equipment, allowing repair crews to more precisely pinpoint damage during storms.
—James Osborne, Houston Chronicle, 8 Feb. 2018
Passant Rabie / Gizmodo, Quartz, 23 Apr. 2024
The team finally pinpointed the problem to a memory chip and figured out how to restore some essential software code.
—Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 23 Apr. 2024
Using a new approach to fuse data from high definition camera and millimeter-wave radar, her team has created a system that can pinpoint vehicle locations to within 1.3m at ranges of up to 500m. The results were outlined in a recent paper in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters.
—IEEE Spectrum, 23 Apr. 2024
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also investigating, and its report, expected to pinpoint cause, will come out before the one-year anniversary.
—Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2024
In a promising development that speaks to generative AI’s capacity to surprise, computer scientists have discovered that some AI programs can pinpoint aspects of communication that transcend a specific language.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 12 Apr. 2024
Traditionally, lactate threshold has been a critical measure of athletic performance by pinpointing exercise intensity when lactate starts to rise in muscles and blood.
—Travis Nemkov, Discover Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
The residents said the drones appeared to monitor RSF movements, target their positions, and pinpoint artillery strikes in Omdurman, one of three cities on the banks of the Nile that comprise the capital Khartoum.
—Reuters, NBC News, 10 Apr. 2024
Astronomers have not been able to pinpoint the reasons behind the changes, but new research poses a somewhat simple explanation–aging.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 3 Apr. 2024
Noun
For example, target buttons can usually be activated with pinpoint accuracy using a mouse but may prove far more challenging on a smaller phone screen for an individual with low vision, someone with dexterity issues or simply because everyone has different-sized fingers.
—Gus Alexiou, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Squeezing in the more than 100 additional components necessary to have a modern-style wristwatch strike with pinpoint accuracy and rich, clear peals — each watch sounds subtly different — is considered the height of horological craft, and most companies abandoned such complex models long ago.
—Nancy Hass, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024
Check In only pinpoints the destination on the map.
—Brenda Stolyar, WIRED, 5 Mar. 2024
Time had not dimmed his ability to toss papers from the sidewalk onto porches with pinpoint accuracy.
—Frederick N. Rasmussen, Baltimore Sun, 6 Feb. 2024
Space probes typically aim for landing sites that are at least several miles wide, but JAXA said the achievement of a pinpoint landing opens up new opportunities.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 25 Jan. 2024
The coordinates that Near Intelligence collected and left exposed online pinpoint locations to within a few centimeters of space.
—Dhruv Mehrotra, WIRED, 28 Mar. 2024
Just a few weeks ago Japan's 'Moon Sniper' rover made a pinpoint landing, making Japan only the fourth nation to successfully soft-land on the moon, joining the U.S, China and the Soviet Union.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024
Blitzed by an onslaught of pinpoint Morgan Cheli passes, quick McKenna Woliczko layups and relentless defensive pressure from all sides, O’Dowd joined an ever-growing list of programs to be crushed this season by the San Jose private school.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 16 Jan. 2024
Adjective
Second, the singular nature of Eve is not a quasi-creationist argument for a pinpoint origin of humanity in a unique woman.
—Stephen Jay Gould, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019
Saturday’s maneuver required pinpoint hand-eye coordination, body control and a flourish of power.
—Phil Thompson, SFChronicle.com, 16 Feb. 2020
Those partnerships would be able to collect more detailed data that could more finely pinpoint actual demand by neighborhoods.
—BostonGlobe.com, 5 Nov. 2019
Ice pick acne scars are small, narrow, pinpoint acne scars that penetrate deep into the skin, according to Gross.
—Audrey Noble, Harper's BAZAAR, 21 Jan. 2019
In some cities, like Houston and Dallas, utilities have already undertaken to upgrade their systems with new, digital equipment, allowing repair crews to more precisely pinpoint damage during storms.
—James Osborne, Houston Chronicle, 8 Feb. 2018
Verb
In March, the team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) pinpointed the cause behind Voyager 1's nonsensical data: a single chip responsible for storing part of the affected portion of the spacecraft’s flight data system (FDS) memory.
—Passant Rabie / Gizmodo, Quartz, 23 Apr. 2024
The team finally pinpointed the problem to a memory chip and figured out how to restore some essential software code.
—Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 23 Apr. 2024
Using a new approach to fuse data from high definition camera and millimeter-wave radar, her team has created a system that can pinpoint vehicle locations to within 1.3m at ranges of up to 500m. The results were outlined in a recent paper in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters.
—IEEE Spectrum, 23 Apr. 2024
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also investigating, and its report, expected to pinpoint cause, will come out before the one-year anniversary.
—Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Fortune, 18 Apr. 2024
In a promising development that speaks to generative AI’s capacity to surprise, computer scientists have discovered that some AI programs can pinpoint aspects of communication that transcend a specific language.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 12 Apr. 2024
Traditionally, lactate threshold has been a critical measure of athletic performance by pinpointing exercise intensity when lactate starts to rise in muscles and blood.
—Travis Nemkov, Discover Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
The residents said the drones appeared to monitor RSF movements, target their positions, and pinpoint artillery strikes in Omdurman, one of three cities on the banks of the Nile that comprise the capital Khartoum.
—Reuters, NBC News, 10 Apr. 2024
Astronomers have not been able to pinpoint the reasons behind the changes, but new research poses a somewhat simple explanation–aging.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 3 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pinpoint.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near pinpoint
Cite this Entry
“Pinpoint.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pinpoint. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pinpoint
1 of 3 noun
pin·point
ˈpin-ˌpȯint
1
: the point of a pin
2
: an extremely small or sharp point
a pinpoint of light in the darkness
pinpoint
2 of 3 verb
: to locate or identify exactly
pinpoint your career interests
pinpoint
3 of 3 adjective1
: extremely fine or exact
pinpoint accuracy
2
: located, fixed, or directed with great exactness
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