pointer

Noun

1. Anything that points or is used for pointing.
   • The talkers and pointers had undermined him. They had touched him with the acid of their suspicions, and the corrosion spread until he himself had lost sight of the truth. - 1972, Lynn Hall, Sticks and Stones:
   • The man he addressed drew back in horror, but answered the musketeer’s words by pointing his finger. Athos offered the man a half pistole to accompany him, but the man refused. Athos went down the street that the...
   • “Hey,” the finger pointer said, re-pointing his finger at Joe, “are you a joke or what?” / “I don't think I'm a joke.” / “Well I think you're a joke.” He dropped his hand and then lifted it again and pointed his finger...

   1. One who points.

   2. A teacher's pointer, pointing stick, a rod with an arrow.

      Synonyms: fescue

   3. A needlelike component of a timepiece or measuring device that indicates the time or the current reading of the device.

      Synonyms: hand needle indicator

   4. (hunting) A breed of hunting dog, trained to point out game.

      • Most of the early wirehaired pointers represented a combination of Griffon, Stichelhaar, Pudelpointer, and German Shorthair. The Pudelpointer was a cross between a Poodle dog and an English Pointer bitch; the Griffon...

      Coordinate Terms: retriever setter

   5. (programming) A variable that holds the address of a memory location where a value can be stored.

      • I do consider assignment statements and pointer variables to be among computer science's "most valuable treasures." - 1974, Donald Knuth, “Structured Programming with go to Statements”, in Computing Surveys, volume 6,...

      Synonyms: reference

   6. (graphical user interface) An icon that indicates the position of the pointing device, such as a mouse.

      • The system notifies the user of the progress of a task by changing the appearance of the pointer. System-busy pointers usually adopt a timepiece metaphor. - 1995, Aaron Marcus, Nick Smilonich, Lynne Thompson, The...

      Synonyms: cursor

2. A tip, a bit of advice.
   • The instructor gave me some pointers on writing a good paper.
   • In a paper to the Institute of Locomotive Engineers on February 17 which ranged over the whole subject of auxiliary services on London Transport rolling stock, Mr. R. I. D. Arthurton, Mechanical Engineer...

   Synonyms: advice hint

3. Something that gives a point (sharp end) to something.
   • pencil pointer
4. Something worth a given number of points.
   • a ten-pointer
   • After another penalty miss, Kvirikashvili finally found the target on 27 minutes before Flood hit back with a three-pointer of his own. - 2011 September 18, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia”, in...