Definition of "point-blank" [point•-blank]

• Aimed straight at the mark or target without allowing for the drop in a projectile's course. (adjective)
• So close to a target that a weapon may be aimed directly at it: point-blank range. (adjective)
• Close enough so that missing the target is unlikely or impossible: a point-blank shot. (adjective)
• Straightforward; blunt: a point-blank accusation. (adjective)
• With a straight aim; directly: fired point-blank at the intruder. (adverb)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It was on a weekend trip home to Tucson that Giffords was shot at point-blank range in the head outside a Safeway grocery store where she was meeting constituents."
• "During Tuesday's U.S. match against Guadalupe, Dempsey, the closest thing the U.S. has to a star, missed point-blank shots and headers."
• "The Democratic congresswoman was shot at point-blank range during a rampage Jan. 8 at a constituent event in Tucson, Ariz., that left six dead and 13 others wounded."