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Post vs Point - What's the difference?

post | point |

As nouns the difference between post and point

is that post is post, mail while point is a discrete division of something.

As a verb point is

to extend the index finger in the direction of something in order to show where it is or to draw attention to it.

post

English

(wikipedia post)

Alternative forms

* poast (obsolete)

Etymology 1

From (etyl)

Noun

(en noun)
  • A long dowel or plank protruding from the ground; a fence post; a light post
  • (construction) a stud; a two-by-four
  • A pole in a battery
  • (dentistry) A long, narrow piece inserted into a root canal to provide retention for a crown.
  • a prolonged final melody note, among moving harmony notes
  • (paper, printing) A printing paper size measuring 19.25 inches x 15.5 inches
  • (sports) goalpost
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2010 , date=December 29 , author=Chris Whyatt , title=Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton , work=BBC citation , page= , passage=But they marginally improved after the break as Didier Drogba hit the post . }}
  • (obsolete) The doorpost of a victualler's shop or inn, on which were chalked the scores of customers; hence, a score; a debt.
  • * S. Rowlands
  • When God sends coin / I will discharge your post .
    Derived terms
    * doorpost * fencepost * from pillar to post * gatepost * goalpost * hitching post * king post * lamppost * listening post * milepost * newel post * post hole * * scratching post * signpost * tool post

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To hang (a notice) in a conspicuous manner for general review.
  • Post no bills.
  • To hold up to public blame or reproach; to advertise opprobriously; to denounce by public proclamation.
  • to post someone for cowardice
  • * Granville
  • On pain of being posted to your sorrow / Fail not, at four, to meet me.
  • (accounting) To carry (an account) from the journal to the ledger.
  • * Arbuthnot
  • You have not posted your books these ten years.
  • To inform; to give the news to; to make acquainted with the details of a subject; often with up .
  • * London Saturday Review
  • thoroughly posted up in the politics and literature of the day
  • (poker) To pay (a blind)
  • Since Jim was new to the game, he had to post $4 in order to receive a hand.
    Derived terms
    *

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete) Each of a series of men stationed at specific places along a postroad, with responsibility for relaying letters and dispatches of the monarch (and later others) along the route.
  • (dated) A station, or one of a series of stations, established for the refreshment and accommodation of travellers on some recognized route.
  • a stage or railway post
  • A military base; the place at which a soldier or a body of troops is stationed; also, the troops at such a station.
  • * Archbishop Abbot
  • In certain places there be always fresh posts , to carry that further which is brought unto them by the other.
  • * Shakespeare
  • I fear my Julia would not deign my lines, / Receiving them from such a worthless post .
  • * 2011 , Thomas Penn, Winter King , Penguin 2012, p. 199:
  • information was filtered through the counting-houses and warehouses of Antwerp; posts galloped along the roads of the Low Countries, while dispatches streamed through Calais, and were passed off the merchant galleys arriving in London from the Flanders ports.
  • An organisation for delivering letters, parcels etc., or the service provided by such an organisation.
  • sent via ''post'''; ''parcel '''post
  • * Alexander Pope
  • I send you the fair copy of the poem on dullness, which I should not care to hazard by the common post .
  • A single delivery of letters; the letters or deliveries that make up a single batch delivered to one person or one address.
  • A message posted in an electronic forum.
  • A location on a basketball court near the basket.
  • (American football) A moderate to deep passing route in which a receiver runs 10-20 yards from the line of scrimmage straight down the field, then cuts toward the middle of the field (towards the facing goalposts) at a 45-degree angle.
  • Two of the receivers ran post patterns.
  • (obsolete) Haste or speed, like that of a messenger or mail carrier.
  • * Shakespeare
  • In post he came.
  • (obsolete) One who has charge of a station, especially a postal station.
  • * Palfrey
  • He held office of postmaster, or, as it was then called, post , for several years.
    Derived terms
    * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To send an item of mail.
  • Mail items posted before 7.00pm within the Central Business District and before 5.00pm outside the Central Business District will be delivered the next working day.
  • To travel with post horses; figuratively, to travel in haste.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Post speedily to my lord your husband.
  • * Milton
  • And post o'er land and ocean without rest.
  • (UK, horse-riding) To rise and sink in the saddle, in accordance with the motion of the horse, especially in trotting.
  • (Internet) To publish a message to a newsgroup, forum, blog, etc.
  • I couldn't figure it out, so I posted a question on the mailing list.
    Derived terms
    *

    Adverb

    (-)
  • With the post, on post-horses; express, with speed, quickly
  • * 1749 , Henry Fielding, Tom Jones , Folio Society 1973, p. 353:
  • In this posture were affairs at the inn when a gentleman arrived there post .
  • * 1888 , Rudyard Kipling, ‘The Arrest of Lieutenant Golightly’, Plain Tales from the Hills , Folio 2005, p. 93:
  • He prided himself on looking neat even when he was riding post .
  • sent via the postal service
  • Descendants
    * German: (l)

    Etymology 3

    Probably from (etyl) poste.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An assigned station; a guard post.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-08, volume=407, issue=8839, page=52, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The new masters and commanders , passage=From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts . For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.}}
  • An appointed position in an organization.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=December 14, author=Angelique Chrisafis, work=Guardian
  • , title= Rachida Dati accuses French PM of sexism and elitism , passage=She was Nicolas Sarkozy's pin-up for diversity, the first Muslim woman with north African parents to hold a major French government post . But Rachida Dati has now turned on her own party elite with such ferocity that some have suggested she should be expelled from the president's ruling party.}}

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To enter (a name) on a list, as for service, promotion, etc.
  • To assign to a station; to set; to place.
  • Post a sentinel in front of the door.
  • * De Quincey
  • It might be to obtain a ship for a lieutenant, or to get him posted .

    Etymology 4

    From (etyl) post

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • after; especially after a significant event that has long-term ramifications
  • * 2008 , Michael Tomasky, "Obama cannot let the right cast him in that 60s show", The Guardian , online,
  • One of the most appealing things for me about Barack Obama has always been that he comes post the post-60s generation.
  • * 2008 , Matthew Stevens, "Lew pressured to reveal what he knows", The Australian , online,
  • Lew reckons he had three options for the cash-cow which was Premier post the Coles sale.

    See also

    * post-

    Anagrams

    * ----

    point

    English

    (wikipedia point)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A discrete division of something.
  • # An individual element in a larger whole; a particular detail, thought, or quality.
  • The Congress debated the finer points of the bill.
  • # A particular moment in an event or occurrence; a juncture.
  • There comes a point in a marathon when some people give up.
  • At this point in the meeting, I'd like to propose a new item for the agenda.
  • # (archaic) Condition, state.
  • She was not feeling in good point .
  • # A topic of discussion or debate; a proposition, a focus of conversation or consideration.
  • I made the point that we all had an interest to protect.
  • # (obsolete) The smallest quantity of something; a jot, a whit.
  • #* 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , I.ii:
  • full large of limbe and euery ioint / He was, and cared not for God or man a point .
  • # (obsolete) A tiny amount of time; a moment.
  • #* Sir J. Davies
  • When time's first point begun / Made he all souls.
  • # A specific location or place, seen as a spatial position.
  • We should meet at a pre-arranged point .
  • # (mathematics, science) A zero-dimensional mathematical object representing a location in one or more dimensions; something considered to have position but no magnitude or direction.
  • # A purpose or objective.
  • Since the decision has already been made, I see little point in further discussion.
  • # A full stop or other terminal punctuation mark.
  • #* Alexander Pope
  • Commas and points they set exactly right.
  • # (music) A dot or mark used to designate certain tones or time. In ancient music, it distinguished or characterized certain tones or styles (points of perfection, of augmentation, etc.). In modern music, it is placed on the right of a note to raise its value, or prolong its time, by one half.
  • # (by extension) A note; a tune.
  • #* Sir Walter Scott
  • Sound the trumpet — not a levant, or a flourish, but a point of war.
  • # A distinguishing quality or characteristic.
  • Logic isn't my strong point .
  • # Something tiny, as a pinprick; a very small mark.
  • The stars showed as tiny points of yellow light.
  • # (now only in phrases) A tenth; formerly also a twelfth.
  • Possession is nine points of the law.
  • # Each of the marks or strokes written above letters, especially in Semitic languages, to indicate vowels, stress etc.
  • # (gaming) A unit of scoring in a game or competition.
  • The one with the most points will win the game
  • # (mathematics) A decimal point (now especially when reading decimal fractions aloud).
  • 10.5 ("ten point five"; = ten and a half)
  • # (economics) A unit used to express differences in prices of stocks and shares.
  • # (typography) a unit of measure equal to 1/12 of a pica, or approximately 1/72 of an inch (exactly 1/72 of an inch in the digital era).
  • # (UK) An electric power socket.
  • # (navigation, nautical) A unit of bearing equal to one thirty-second of a circle, i.e. 11.25°.
  • Ship ahoy, three points off the starboard bow!
  • A sharp extremity.
  • # The sharp tip of an object.
  • Cut the skin with the point of the knife.
  • # Any projecting extremity of an object.
  • # An object which has a sharp or tapering tip.
  • His cowboy belt was studded with points .
  • # (backgammon) Each of the twelve triangular positions in either table of a backgammon board, on which the stones are played.
  • # A peninsula or promontory.
  • # The position at the front or vanguard of an advancing force.
  • #* 2005 , Martin Torgoff, Can't Find My Way Home: America in the Great Stoned Age, 1945–2000 , Simon & Schuster, ISBN 978-0-7432-3011-6, page 189:
  • Willie Jones decided to become Kimani Jones, Black Panther, on the day his best friend, Otis Nicholson, stepped on a mine while walking point during a sweep in the central highlands.
  • # Each of the main directions on a compass, usually considered to be 32 in number; a direction.
  • # (nautical) The difference between two points of the compass.
  • to fall off a point
  • # Pointedness of speech or writing; a penetrating or decisive quality of expression.
  • #* 1897 , (Henry James), (What Maisie Knew) :
  • There was moreover a hint of the duchess in the infinite point with which, as she felt, she exclaimed: "And this is what you call coming often ?"
  • #* , chapter=4
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=I told him about everything I could think of; and what I couldn't think of he did. He asked about six questions during my yarn, but every question had a point to it. At the end he bowed and thanked me once more. As a thanker he was main-truck high; I never see anybody so polite.}}
  • # (railroads, UK, in the plural) A railroad switch.
  • # (usually, in the plural) An area of contrasting colour on an animal, especially a dog; a marking.
  • The point color of that cat was a deep, rich sable.
  • # (cricket) A fielding position square of the wicket on the off side, between gully and cover.
  • # A tine or snag of an antler.
  • # (fencing) A movement executed with the sabre or foil.
  • tierce point
  • (heraldry) One of the several different parts of the escutcheon.
  • (nautical) A short piece of cordage used in reefing sails.
  • (historical) A string or lace used to tie together certain garments.
  • (Sir Walter Scott)
  • Lace worked by the needle.
  • point''' de Venise; Brussels '''point
  • (US, slang, dated) An item of private information; a hint; a tip; a pointer.
  • The attitude assumed by a pointer dog when he finds game.
  • The dog came to a point .

    Synonyms

    * (location or place) location, place, position, spot * (in geometry) ord * (particular moment in an event or occurrence) moment, ord, time * (sharp tip) end, ord, tip * (arithmetic symbol) decimal point * (opinion) opinion, point of view, view, viewpoint * (unit of measure of success or failure) mark (in a competition) * (color of extremities of an animal)

    See also

    * for the use of point with these verbs

    Derived terms

    * accidental point * accumulation point * ballpoint * basepoint * basis point * beside the point * boiling point * boundary point * branch point * break point * Brownie point * bullet point * cardinal point * case in point * cashpoint * closest point of approach * cloud point * coincidence point * commit point * compass point * consolute point * critical point * data point * decimal point * deep point * demerit point * dew point * Didot point * double point * dropping point * dry point, drypoint * endpoint * entry point * entry point for the eye * eutectic point * experience point * fixed point * fixed-point * flash point * floating-point * focal point * freezing point * game point * get the point * get to the point * gunpoint * hit points * hollow point * inflection point * in point of fact * isoelectric point * isolated point * knifepoint * (l) * limit point * make a point * match point * melting point * midpoint * moot point * needlepoint * nip point * one-point perspective * on point * on the point of * ordinary point * outpoint * percentage point * Pica point * pointable * point bar * point blank * point break * point cloud * point duty * pointed * point function * point group * point-in-line * pointless * point man * point mass * point mutation * point of articulation * point-of-care imaging * point of contact * point of fact * point of inevitability * point of inflection, point of inflexion * point of no return * point of order * point of pride * point of reference * point of sale * point of the compass * point of view * point set * point source * point taken * pointwise * pointy * power point * pressure point * reference point * seal point * set point * silly point * single point of failure * singular point * skill point * sore point * standpoint * starting point * stationary point * sticking point * stress point * take point * take someone's point * talking point * three-point line * three-point perspective * three-point turn * tipping point * to the point * trig point * triple point * transition point * turning point * two-point perspective * vanishing point * vantage point * waypoint * what’s the point? * zero point * zero-point energy

    Descendants

    * Japanese:

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To extend the index finger in the direction of something in order to show where it is or to draw attention to it.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Now must the world point at poor Katharine.
  • * Dryden
  • Point at the tattered coat and ragged shoe.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=October 23, author=Becky Ashton, work=BBC Sport
  • , title= QPR 1 - 0 Chelsea , passage=Luiz struggled with the movement of Helguson in the box, as he collected a long ball and the Spaniard barged him over, leaving referee Chris Foy little option but to point to the spot.}}
  • To draw attention to something or indicate a direction.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author= Ed Pilkington
  • , volume=188, issue=26, page=6, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= ‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told , passage=In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.}}
  • To direct toward an object; to aim.
  • to point a gun at a wolf, or a cannon at a fort
  • To give a point to; to sharpen; to cut, forge, grind, or file to an acute end.
  • to point a dart, a pencil, or (figuratively) a moral
  • to indicate a probability of something
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=December 21, author=Helen Pidd, work=the Guardian
  • , title= Europeans migrate south as continent drifts deeper into crisis , passage=Tens of thousands of Portuguese, Greek and Irish people have left their homelands this year, many heading for the southern hemisphere. Anecdotal evidence points to the same happening in Spain and Italy.}}
  • (ambitransitive, masonry) To repair mortar.
  • (masonry) To fill up and finish the joints of (a wall), by introducing additional cement or mortar, and bringing it to a smooth surface.
  • (stone-cutting) To cut, as a surface, with a pointed tool.
  • To direct or encourage (someone) in a particular direction.
  • * Alexander Pope
  • Whosoever should be guided through his battles by Minerva, and pointed to every scene of them.
  • (mathematics) To separate an integer from a decimal with a decimal point.
  • To mark with diacritics.
  • (dated) To supply with punctuation marks; to punctuate.
  • to point a composition
  • (computing) To direct the central processing unit to seek information at a certain location in memory.
  • (Internet) To direct requests sent to a domain name to the IP address corresponding to that domain name.
  • (nautical) To sail close to the wind.
  • (hunting) To indicate the presence of game by a fixed and steady look, as certain hunting dogs do.
  • * John Gay
  • He treads with caution, and he points with fear.
  • (medicine, of an abscess) To approximate to the surface; to head.
  • (obsolete) To appoint.
  • (Spenser)
  • (dated) To give particular prominence to; to designate in a special manner; to point out.
  • * Charles Dickens
  • He points it, however, by no deviation from his straightforward manner of speech.
    (Alexander Pope)

    Derived terms

    * point at * pointer * point out * to have a point * point the finger * repoint

    Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * * * * 1000 English basic words ----