English

Verb

take point ‎(third-person singular simple present takes point, present participle taking point, simple past took point, past participle taken point)

1. (military) In combat, to assume the first and most exposed position in a formation; to serve as the lead soldier/unit advancing through hostile or unsecured territory.
2. By extension, to assume a key role in an operation.
   • 2012, Sep. 15th, The Economist, The war in Syria: Death from the skies

     But unlike the intervention in Libya, where France and Britain took point and America “led from behind”, an intervention in Syria would have to be a mostly American affair, and as such it would be done with massive force from the outset.

Translations

Derived terms

• point man

See also

• point taken, unrelated