The distance between a gun and a target such that it requires minimal effort in aiming it. In particular no allowance needs to be made for effects of gravity, target movement or wind in aiming the projectile.
2
Blunt, outright.
Here I was brought into point blank collison with Rev. Dr. Cox, who made me the subject not only of bitter remark in the convention, but also of a long denunciatory letter published in the New York Evangelist and other American papers.1855, Frederick Douglass, chapter XXIV, in My Bondage and My Freedom. […], New York; Auburn, N.Y.: Miller, Orton & Mulligan […], →OCLC:
Again I had an opportunity of asking him a point blank question, and again my delicacy prevented me from forcing another man to confide in me.1887, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “A Study in Scarlet”, in Beeton’s Christmas Annual, London; New York, N.Y.: Ward, Lock & Co., part I (Being a reprint from the reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D., […]), chapter II (The Science of Deduction), page 11:
point blank
adv
1
Horizontally (as the angle at which a projectile is launched); directly or straight (at the target).
2
Idiomatic Directly; bluntly; without pretense or caution.
I asked him point blank whether he was cheating on his wife.
There’s a neighbor named Brace Dunlap that’s been wanting to marry their Benny for three months, and at last they told him point blank and once for all, he COULDN’T; so he has soured on them, and they’re worried about it.1896, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter I, in Tom Sawyer, Detective:
point-blank
adj
Etymology From French point blanc (“white point”), originally referring to the white spot to be aimed at on a target (see blank's "bull's eye") or alternatively into empty space being fired horizontally.
1
Very close; not touching but not more than a few metres (yards).
2
Ballistics, Engineering, Government, Military, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics, Politics, Tools, War, Weaponry The distance between a firearm and a target where a projectile in flight is expected to strike the centre of the target without adjusting the elevation of the firearm.
Now, here's a useful tool—.470, telescopic sight, double ejector, point-blank up to three-fifty. That's the rifle I used against the Peruvian slave-drivers three years ago.1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, “‘I was the Flail of the Lord’”, in The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
Heavily armed militants launched a series of coordinated attacks in rural Assam on Tuesday, pulling villagers from their homes and shooting them at point-blank range, witnesses said.2014 December 24, “Assam rebels kill scores on night of brutal attacks in Indian state”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:
1 more example
Fifteen of those people had died of natural causes, the rest from gunshot wounds, including point-blank shots, or from shrapnel.2022 April 3, Carlotta Gall, Andrew E. Kramer, “In a Kyiv suburb,‘they shot everyone they saw’”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
3
Disconcertingly straightforward or blunt; outright.
a point-blank assertion
At this point-blank denial, Stephen turned his face away decisively, and preserved an ominous silence; […]1872 September – 1873 July, Thomas Hardy, “‘VII’”, in A Pair of Blue Eyes. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Tinsley Brothers, […], published 1873, →OCLC:
2 more examples
Yes, but surliness might have provoked a point-blank question.1910 August-September, Joseph Conrad, chapter II, in The Secret Sharer, Harper's Magazine:
In recent years, the attitude of the railway authorities towards large-scale visits to works and sheds on the whole, has, happily, veered round from suspicion, and even point-blank opposition, to one of co-operation and ready welcome.1951 April, R. S. McNaught, “Railway Enthusiasts”, in Railway Magazine, number 600, page 269:
point-blank
adv
Etymology From French point blanc (“white point”), originally referring to the white spot to be aimed at on a target (see blank's "bull's eye") or alternatively into empty space being fired horizontally.
1
In a direct manner, without hesitation.
One day, when he was doing some valuation for me, he told me point-blank that clergymen seldom understood anything about business, and did mischief when they meddled; […]1871–1872, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XXXVIII, in Middlemarch […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book (please specify |book=I to VIII):
About a week afterwards she said to him, point-blank, "Are you seriously making love to your little cousin?"1878 July–October, Henry James, Jr., chapter II, in The Europeans. A Sketch. […], volume II, London: Macmillan and Co., published 1878, →OCLC, page 81:
4 more examples
My father addressed himself to the gentleman point-blank, and there was quite a disturbance.1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter XXVII, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC:
He was getting on well, so I understood, and had secured a fairly substantial position, and I had therefore ventured to ask him point-blank for the loan of fifty pounds.1895, Marie Corelli, The Sorrows of Satan: or The Strange Experience of One Geoffrey Tempest, Millionaire […], 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, published 1896, →OCLC, page 12:
Montgomery fired and missed, bowed his head, threw up his arm, and turned to run. I fired, and the Thing still came on; fired again, point-blank, into its ugly face.1896, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, The Island of Doctor Moreau (Heinemann’s Colonial Library of Popular Fiction; 52), London: William Heinemann, →OCLC; republished as The Island of Doctor Moreau: A Possibility, New York, N.Y.: Stone & Kimball, 1896, →OCLC:
For answer the girl raised her revolver and fired point-blank at him. Without a sound he sank to the earth, dead.1913 January–May, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Gods of Mars”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as The Gods of Mars, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., September 1918, →OCLC: