In ballet, pointe is dancing on the very ends of the toes, with the feet held straight up and down, so the dancer looks taller and lighter. You will hear on pointe (sometimes the French en pointe): it means the dancer is up there, not standing on the flat of the foot or on the ball of the foot. It takes years of training, and special hard shoes called pointe shoes. From the audience it can look effortless; though actually it hurts at first, and dancing on pointe too young can damage growing bones — teachers wait until the feet are ready. The word is French for "tip" or "point". English already had point for a tip; ballet kept the French spelling to name this one skill. It is a dance-studio word. Outside ballet, point is the word you want.