point source

noun

1

: a source of radiation (such as light) that is concentrated at a point and considered as having no spatial extension

2

: an identifiable confined source (such as a smokestack or wastewater treatment plant) from which a pollutant is discharged or emitted

Examples of point source in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In every case, the best fit was a system with a massive point source at its center, and the rest of the material rotating around it. —ArsTechnica, 27 May 2026

This is a point source detection problem, in which the multiple sources of a complex signal are located. —John Werner, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026

Usually, such compact objects are classified as point sources, and most tend to be stars. —Nola Taylor Tillman, Space.com, 9 Jan. 2026

The paper reports Hubble Space Telescope observations that show the appearance in 2023 of a second point source around Fomalhaut, resembling the appearance of Fomalhaut b twenty years earlier. —Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 20 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for point source

• concourse
• divorce
• endorse
• enforce
• indorse
• midcourse
• outsource
• perforce
• racehorse
• remorse
• seahorse
• workforce