AbstractA generalized diffuse derivative approximation is combined with a point collocation scheme for solid mechanics problems. The derivatives are obtained from a local approximation so their evaluation is computationally very efficient. This meshfree point collocation method has other advantages: it does not require special treatment for essential boundary condition nor the time‐consuming integration of a weak form. Neither the connectivity of the mesh nor differentiability of the weight function is necessary. The accuracy of the solutions is exceptional and generally exceeds that of element‐free Galerkin method with linear basis. The performance and robustness are demonstrated by several numerical examples, including crack problems. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.