tipping point

noun

the point at which an issue, idea, product, etc., crosses a certain threshhold and gains significant momentum, triggered by some minor factor or change.
the point in a situation at which a minor development precipitates a crisis.
Every infected person brings us closer to the tipping point, when the outbreak becomes an epidemic.
Physics.��the point at which an object is no longer balanced, and adding a small amount of weight can cause it to topple.

tipping point

/ ˈ��ɪ��ɪŋ /

noun

the crisis stage in a process, when a significant change takes place

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of tipping point¹

First recorded in 1955–60

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

But quite recently, in the real world there has been a rapid tipping point in thinking on machine consciousness, where credible voices have become concerned that this is no longer the stuff of science fiction.

From

With a third of EFL clubs also partially or majority US-owned, and a number of English clubs for sale or seeking fresh investment, it may not be long until that tipping point is reached.

From

Many researchers are concerned some forests, such as parts of the Amazon, may be approaching a "tipping point", beyond which they could fall into irreversible decline.

From

The major concern is that melting could accelerate further beyond "tipping points" due to warming caused by humans - though it's not clear exactly how these mechanisms work, and where these thresholds sit.

From

The storm “highlighted a tipping point and demonstrated how close the region is to a resource adequacy crisis,” the Western Power Pool, a regionwide organization of utilities, wrote in its assessment of the event.

From

Tippett tipple

Browse