tipping point


noun
  1. the point at which an issue, idea, product, etc., crosses a certain threshhold and gains significant momentum, triggered by some minor factor or change.

  2. 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.

  1. Physics. the point at which an object is no longer balanced, and adding a small amount of weight can cause it to topple.

Origin of tipping point

1
First recorded in 1955–60

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use tipping point in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tipping point

tipping point

/ (ˈtɪpɪŋ) /


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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012