Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Aimed straight at the mark or target without allowing for the drop in a projectile's course.
- adj. So close to a target that a weapon may be aimed directly at it: point-blank range.
- adj. Close enough so that missing the target is unlikely or impossible: a point-blank shot.
- adj. Straightforward; blunt: a point-blank accusation.
- adv. With a straight aim; directly: fired point-blank at the intruder.
- adv. Without hesitation, deliberation, or equivocation: answered point-blank.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A direct shot; a shot with direct aim; a point-blank shot.
- n. The second point (that is, that furthest from the piece) at which the line of sight intersects the trajectory of a. projectile.
- Directly; straight; without deviation or circumlocution.
- In gunnery, having a horizontal direction: as, a point-blank shot. In point-blank shooting the ball is supposed to move directly toward the object without describing an appreciable curve.
- Direct; plain; explicit; express: as, a pointblank denial.
Wiktionary
- adj. forensics very close; not touching but not more than a few metres (yards).
- adj. ballistics the distance between a firearm and a target where a projectile in flight is expected to strike the centre of the target without adjusting the elevation of the firearm.
- adj. Disconcertingly straightforward or blunt.
- adv. In a direct manner, without hesitation.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. obsolete The white spot on a target, at which an arrow or other missile is aimed.
- n. With all small arms, the second point in which the natural line of sight, when horizontal, cuts the trajectory.
- n. With artillery, the point where the projectile first strikes the horizontal plane on which the gun stands, the axis of the piece being horizontal.
- adj. Directed in a line toward the object aimed at; aimed directly toward the mark.
- adj. Hence, direct; plain; unqualified; -- said of language.
- adv. In a point-blank manner.
WordNet 3.0
- adv. in a direct and unequivocal manner
- adj. characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
- adj. close enough to go straight to the target
Etymologies
- Perhaps from French point (de tir), (firing) point, or point (visé), (aiming) point (from Old French; see point) + French blanc, bullseye, target (from Old French, white; see blank). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“It was on a weekend trip home to Tucson that Giffords was shot at point-blank range in the head outside a Safeway grocery store where she was meeting constituents.”
“During Tuesday's U.S. match against Guadalupe, Dempsey, the closest thing the U.S. has to a star, missed point-blank shots and headers.”
The Wall Street Journal: Why Can't the U.S. Build a Soccer Star?
“The Democratic congresswoman was shot at point-blank range during a rampage Jan. 8 at a constituent event in Tucson, Ariz., that left six dead and 13 others wounded.”
The Wall Street Journal: Giffords Is Speaking, Made Request for Toast
“When Perez asked Jen point-blank if she hates Angelina, "Jen said, 'Look, that was so long ago, and we've moved on and we're all adults,'" Perez tells Life & Style.”
The Huffington Post: Jennifer Aniston Opens Up About Angelina - To Perez Hilton
“To All: I'm reasonably ashamed to say that no one shot a single earth swine at more than 150 yards which, for the rifles we had, were point-blank.”
“In the 1970s Billy had even point-blank refused to become part of the antiabortion crusade we waged, no matter how often Dad and I begged him to join our "call to save babies.”
“The militants killed one of the priests at point-blank range and then held more than 100 worshippers hostage until Iraqi forces stormed the church and ended the siege.”
“Ramires produced the cross which Branislav Ivanovic headed down for Frank Lampard to volley home with just over 20 minutes to go and two minutes later Alex raced across and slid in to block the point-blank shot which Wayne Rooney aimed at an empty net, after Hernández had raced through on the left and cut the ball back to his strike partner.”
“Northern Ireland, who slipped to fifth in the group following a 2-1 defeat at home to Estonia on Friday, almost fell behind after 19 minutes when Giovinco's spinning corner was flicked on at the near post but Giorgio Chiellini, lunging awkwardly off balance, could only head wide from point-blank range.”
The Guardian: Italy 3-0 Northern Ireland | Euro 2012 Group C qualifier match report
“Rovers very nearly got themselves back into the game within seconds, when Finn ran on to Gary Twigg's flick-on to head towards goal, but Ryzhikov made a fine reaction save to keep his effort out from point-blank range.”
The Guardian: Shamrock Rovers 0-3 Rubin Kazan | Europa League Group A match report
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘point-blank’.
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The things they carried (List 2)
Listening to this as an audio book for the second time. Tim O'Brien uses simple words and phrases to great effect. Very few unfamilar and big words . The writing style reminds me of words from Joh...
The, Things, They, Carried, meant, fond, By necessity,, presented to him, far beyond, against the brick..., reaching, taut and 2940 more...
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Hyphenated Actual Words
These kind of stun me whenever I see them. Language is just so cool.
chuck-will's-widow, will-o-the-wisp, saw-whet, topsy-turvy, linsey-woolsey, ne'er-do-well, gung-ho, so-so, cul-de-sac, fleur-de-lys, service-berry, major-domo and 33 more...
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MEC1 Lesson 112
hop, grab, rip, waylay, tale, alongside, trick, sticker, bumper, lean, pursuit, rear and 38 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for point-blank.
chained_bear This word (spelled point blank in a historical dictionary I was looking at--more info there) has an interesting etymology. OED says:
"Apparently < POINT n.1 + BLANK adj., probably after Middle French de pointe en blanc (a1569, apparently only in Du Bellay; compare later de but en blanc in the same sense). Compare post-classical Latin in puncto blanco (1620 in a British source). Compare also point(s) and blank adv. and n. at POINT n.1 Phrases 2a. See further A. A. Prins in English Studies 29 (1948) 18-21.
It has frequently been suggested (as in N.E.D. (1907) s.v.) that blank is here the noun (BLANK n. 2), and point the verb (POINT v.1 10a), referring to the pointing of the arrow or gun at the ‘blank’ or ‘white’, point-blank thus being a compound of the same class as break-neck, cut-throat, save-all, stop-gap, etc. However, in each of these cases the noun is the direct object of the verb in the underlying verbal construction, whereas it is difficult to construe blank as the direct object of point. Additionally, post-classical Latin in puncto blanco indicates that point blank was interpreted as a noun-adjective compound within fifty years of its earliest occurrence."
OED again: "Designating the range within which a projectile fired horizontally from a gun, cannon, etc., will hit a target directly on the line sighted along. Also (more generally): designating a very short range (now the usual sense). Now chiefly in point-blank range. Also in extended use." Oct 10, 2008