Meaning & use
run point
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiominformalAmerican
to take charge of an activity or project and direct how it is done
Grammar: Used as a verb phrase and usually followed by 'on' plus the task: she runs point on hiring.
Patterns
- run point on something
Maya is running point on the new ad campaign, so send her your ideas.
For the conference, Sam ran point on booking speakers and venues.
Who's running point on the customer survey this quarter?
phraseidiomsport
in basketball, to play the point guard position and control the team's offense
Grammar: Used in sports reports; it describes a player's role rather than a single action.
Patterns
- run point for a team
He ran point for the Lakers for most of the season.
With the captain injured, a rookie had to run point.
Common combinations
- run point on a project
- Nina is running point on the project while I'm away.
- ask someone to run point
- They asked me to run point on the negotiations.
- run point for a team
- He runs point for the sales team.
Synonyms and how they differ
- lead
- More general and neutral; 'lead' can be used in any variety of English, while 'run point' sounds American and informal.
- head up
- Similar meaning but slightly more formal and common in business writing.
- take charge
- Focuses on taking control rather than on coordinating a team's activity.
Commonly confused: run point or run a point?
run point vs run a point
This is not a standard phrase; the fixed expression is 'run point' without 'a'.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'run point' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Run point' is followed by 'on' before the task, so 'runs point on the meeting' is correct. Option 0 misses 'on', option 2 wrongly adds 'a', and option 3 uses the wrong verb form for 'she'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “run point”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.