on the point of
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Very close to doing something
Literally: at the sharp end of a moment
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
I was on the point of leaving home when a light rain started to fall.Ngay trước khi tôi ra khỏi nhà thì trời đã bắt đầu có mưa nhỏ.
Tatoeba sentence #255015 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Equivalents & related
Common questions
What does “on the point of” mean?
Very close to doing something Literally: at the sharp end of a moment
Is “on the point of” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
What is the closest equivalent?
“mai một” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.