run point

run point (third-person singular simple present runs point, present participle running point, simple past ran point, past participle run point)

1. (military) Synonym of take point (“to assume the first and most exposed position in a formation”).
   • 2013, Howard E[ugene] Wasdin, Stephen Templin, Easy Day for the Dead: A SEAL Team Six Outcasts Novel, New York, N.Y. […]: Gallery Books, →ISBN, page 194:

     John hustled to the front and ran point. Three armed Hezbollah men appeared from the barracks to their right. John stopped, planted his feet, and fired from the standing position: pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop.

2. Synonym of take point (“to assume a key role in an operation”).
   • 2017 October 4, Antony J. Blinken, “Time for the Trump Administration to Arm Ukraine”, in The New York Times‎, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-05-16:

     The administration enlisted a smart, seasoned diplomat, Kurt Volker, to run point on its Ukraine policy.

   • 2019 October 2, Peter Lewis, “It infuriates progressives but Australians think our US relationship is more important than who the president is”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-12-05:

     Whether he was running point at an Ohio rally or sitting rod-straight with a fixed grimace while Trump went commando at a photo op, the prime minister managed to navigate the circus without getting eaten by the lions.

run point

1. past participle of run point