(sometimes figuratively) The place where a journey starts. / The first steps when commencing an activity.

plural of match point

(mechanical engineering) The temperature at which a grease passes from a semi-solid to a liquid state under specific test conditions.

Any of the four principal compass directions: north, south, east and west.

Any of the horizontal directions indicated on a compass. There may be 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, or even 128 compass points on a compass, depending on its size and accuracy.

(basketball) A guard who is usually the shortest of the five basketball positions, and specializes in handling the ball, distributing it to the other players and generally running the team's offense.

(physics) The lowest temperature at which a liquid can form an ignitable mixture in air near the surface of the liquid. / (figuratively) A hotspot; a dangerous place of violent political unrest.

The symbol !; an exclamation mark. / (figuratively) An elongated shape like an exclamation point.

A symbol, such as a colon, composed of two points. / (mathematics) A point on a curve at which there are two tangents (because it touches itself, or has a cusp).

(fluid dynamics) The point in space at which fluid flow around an object changes from laminar to turbulent.