take point

English

take point (third-person singular simple present takes point, present participle taking point, simple past took point, past participle taken point)

(military) To assume the first and most exposed position in a formation in combat; to serve as the lead soldier or unit advancing through hostile or unsecured territory.
Synonym: run point
(by extension) To assume a key role in an operation.
Synonym: run point
- 2012 September 15, “The war in Syria: Death from the skies”, in The Economist:
  But unlike the intervention in Libya, where France and Britain took point and America “led from behind”, an intervention in Syria would have to be a mostly American affair, and as such it would be done with massive force from the outset.

to be the first, to lead in the combat

to assume a key role in an operation