point man
1
7.4
- noun
- /pɔɪnt mæn/
- Jargon
:
explorador
- As Sara and her team crawled across the clearing, automatic weapon fire opened up from three hidden positions, taking out her point man.
- point man checking ahead
And the point man, he stepped over a tripwire, missed it.
- And the point man, he stepped over a tripwire, missed it.
- I mean, with triple canopy, like I could see Don when he's in front of me, but I couldn't see the point man who Don could see.
- And at the time, to me as a point man on a sniper team, I don't, I didn't think there was a lot of planning.
- So we were going out, you know, hitting targets and the first big target that we went to hit that I was a point man on was a Baath party member.
Examples
-
And at the time, to me as a point man on a sniper team, I don't, I didn't think there was a lot of planning.
-
John, so you volunteered for this "point man" patrol, assuming you pass most of this on to your "adult supervision."
Blog text (1) -
And twice, once or twice, our point man who now has son and he has Sal right behind him.
-
The point man himself was obscured in the middle.
Fiction book (1995) -
And the point man, he stepped over a tripwire, missed it.
-
So we were going out, you know, hitting targets and the first big target that we went to hit that I was a point man on was a Baath party member.
-
You will crawl down the ditch, your point man checking ahead of him for poisonous snakes.
Fiction book (1999) -
The point man moved cautiously ahead of the patrol, scanning the area for potential threats.
-
During the mission, the point man signaled for the team to stop as he detected movement nearby.
-
As the point man of the unit, he had the crucial job of locating any dangers before the others advanced.
Synonyms
88
3.7
A person who watches and warns others about danger
84
3.1
A person sent ahead to explore and find safe routes or dangers
21
4.4
A person who watches closely and reports storms, dangers, or animal sightings
4
7.1
A soldier who goes at the front of a group to look for danger
1
5.1
A man who watches for danger or police and warns others
Antonyms
How Far
Surface Forms
Morphology
The term is partly compositional: 'point' here implies the front or leading position and 'man' is a person (soldier), so a learner can infer 'the person who goes at the point/front.' However, the specific occupational role of scouting ahead and detecting danger is a military extension that may not be fully predictable from the constituents alone, making it only partially transparent.
Etymology
Point man comes from small military patrols where one soldier walked at the very point, the front, to watch for danger. That soldier's job was to scout ahead, so the phrase means 'a soldier who goes ahead of a patrol'.