point man

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

point man (plural point men)

1. (military) In combat, the soldier who takes point; the soldier who assumes the first and most exposed position in a combat military formation; the lead soldier/unit advancing through hostile or unsecured territory.
   • 2013 February 11, Phil Bronstein, “The Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden… Is Screwed”, in Esquire Magazine‎^[1]:

     The point man is the only one besides the Shooter who could verify the kill shots firsthand, and he did just that to another SEAL I spoke with.

2. (idiomatic, by extension) A most trusted assistant or associate; the person upon whom one would most rely.

   Synonym: right-hand man

   • 2005 March 2, Leslie Feinberg, “Even McCarthy was gay baited”, in Workers World‎^[2]:

     McCarthy made a name for himself as a point man for a far right-wing current that attacked the Truman administration for the "loss" of China.

Hypernyms

• point person

Related terms

• take point

Further reading

• Take point on Wikipedia.Wikipedia