to point the way
11
3.0
- phrasal verb
:
indicar el camino
- Green highway signs point the way to Moorehead, Minnesota/Fargo, North Dakota.
- points the way to the future
- points the way to a new
- point the way to effective
And they might point the way like a map, you know?
- And they might point the way like a map, you know?
- Was there anyone at that hairpin turn who pointed the way, gave you information, told you a story?
- It's called the Truth and Beauty, how the lives and works of England's greatest poets point the way to a deeper understanding of the words of Jesus.
Examples
-
I stepped back and pointed the way to the kitchen.
Fiction book (1995) -
And though research may point the way to professional enlightenment, research alone cannot advance the profession.
Academic text (1990) -
And they might point the way like a map, you know?
-
The big man will always point the way.
-
Maybe you could just point the way.
-
Popular music can point the way to new ways of teaching and learning music of any kind.
Academic text (2011) -
A number of domestic and international efforts are pointing the way.
Academic text (1997) -
It would always point the way to happiness.
-
It points the way to the nearest Burger World.
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The teacher used the compass to point the way for the students on their hike.
Synonyms
434
3.1
Point to a place, person, direction or thing
313
1.0
To show someone the way by going with them
Antonyms
How Clearly
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to indicate or show the correct path or approach' is directly and compositionally derived from 'point' (to show or direct attention) plus 'way' (route or method); the definite article 'the' does not change the composition. This is a common, cross-linguistically transparent pattern (show/point + path), so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Point the way comes from the simple image of someone pointing with a finger or a lantern to show which road to take. When you point at the way, you show the correct path, so the phrase now means 'to show the correct path or direction'.