pointer

«pointer» in Mova's school dictionary: A stick, arrow or needle used to point at something, such… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a pointer, pointers)

meaning for a pupil

1) A stick, arrow or needle used to point at something, such as on a dial, scale or clock. tree →

2) (informal) A useful tip or piece of advice. tree →

3) The arrow on a computer screen that you move with the mouse. tree →

4) A type of hunting dog. tree →

5) (computers) A value that tells where something is stored. tree →

sense in the lessons

In maths and science: read where the pointer is on a scale or dial. In the classroom, a teacher may use a pointer on the board. In everyday talk: "Can you give me some pointers?" Phrases: laser pointer, pointers on.

examples

• Read the scale where the pointer stops. tree →
• The pointer on the scales showed 3 kilograms. tree →
• Move the pointer to the icon and click. tree →
• Can you give me a few pointers on my drawing? tree →
• The teacher used a pointer to show the map. tree →
• Never shine a laser pointer in anyone's eyes. tree →
• A pointer dog stands still and points at birds. tree →

note

Countable. Safety: laser pointers can damage eyes. In a maths scale question, find what each small mark is worth before reading the pointer.

In the corpora

• Lasers can damage sight, so a laser pointer is never pointed at anyone's eyes.
• A glass or pointer on a spirit board moves because of tiny movements people make without knowing it, called the ideomotor effect.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «pointer» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.