point-blank
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.12 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
The distance between a firearm and a target where a projectile in flight is expected to strike the centre of the target without adjusting the elevation of the firearm.
adj
adv
In a direct manner, without hesitation.
Example Sentences
- "Now, here's a useful tool—.470, telescopic sight, double ejector, point-blank up to three-fifty. That's the rifle I used against the Peruvian slave-drivers three years ago."
- "Heavily armed militants launched a series of coordinated attacks in rural Assam on Tuesday, pulling villagers from their homes and shooting them at point-blank range, witnesses said."
- "Fifteen of those people had died of natural causes, the rest from gunshot wounds, including point-blank shots, or from shrapnel."
- "a point-blank assertion"
- "At this point-blank denial, Stephen turned his face away decisively, and preserved an ominous silence; […]"
- "Yes, but surliness might have provoked a point-blank question."
Etymology
From French point blanc (“white point”), originally referring to the white spot to be aimed at on a target (see blank's "bull's eye") or alternatively into empty space being fired horizontally.
Origin
- Source language: French