crux

¹

[ kruhks ]

noun

, plural crux·es, cru·ces [kroo, -seez].

1. a vital, basic, decisive, or pivotal point:

   The crux of the trial was his whereabouts at the time of the murder.

   Synonyms: gist, core, heart, essence

2. a cross.
3. something that torments by its puzzling nature; a perplexing difficulty.

Crux

²

[ kruhks ]

noun

, Astronomy.

, genitive Cru·cis [kroo, -sis].

1. Southern Cross.

crux

¹

/ krʌks /

noun

1. a vital or decisive stage, point, etc (often in the phrase the crux of the matter )
2. a baffling problem or difficulty
3. mountaineering the most difficult and often decisive part of a climb or pitch
4. See cross
   a rare word for cross

Crux

²

/ krʌks /

noun

1. See Southern Cross
   the more formal name for the Southern Cross

Word History and Origins

Origin of crux¹

1635–45; < Latin: stake, scaffold, or cross used in executions, torment; figurative senses perhaps < New Latin crux ( interpretum ) (commentators') torment, a difficult passage in a text; crucial

Origin of crux²

< Latin: a cross

Word History and Origins

Origin of crux¹

C18: from Latin: cross

Example Sentences

In keeping with the expert consensus on decarbonization, the crux of China’s odyssey is electrifying its economy as much as possible, from switching to electric vehicles to using electricity instead of coal for some industrial production.

From Vox

That’s the crux of Mulan, in which our heroine realizes, through pretending to be a perfect bride and pretending to be a perfect soldier and failing at both, that gender is ultimately performative.

From Vox

That’s the whole crux of the fight that’s happening right now with Tik Tok.

From MIT Technology Review

The crux of this issue is in transitioning away from the view that work gives life meaning and life is about using work to survive, towards a view of living a life that itself is fulfilling and meaningful.

From Singularity Hub 

It seems like the neighbor cells are the crux, in addition to the encoding neurons themselves, the team explained.

From Singularity Hub 

The crux of the problem remains on this side of the Pacific.

From The Daily Beast

The crux of the matter is not the date of the next elections, but ensuring that elections are free, fair, and clean.

From The Daily Beast

That, he says, is at the crux of why Pope Francis wants to train more exorcists.

From The Daily Beast

And yet, despite the banter, the crux of the issue is the feasibility of it all.

From The Daily Beast

The crux is new representation: of body, of proportion, of aesthetic ideals.

From The Daily Beast

The very word (crux) was used among them as a curse, especially in the form ad (malam) crucem.

From Project Gutenberg

Ah, that was it—that was the crux of the whole matter; and he remembered now that never once had she reproached him with that.

From Project Gutenberg

Priests are portrayed in adoration of the crux ansata before phallic monuments.

From Project Gutenberg

Every Sunday morning proved the crux of her experience, and Mrs. Caukins' nerves were correspondingly shaken.

From Project Gutenberg

The crux of the whole matter is not exhaustion, but a loss of control over the nervous forces.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bottom line
• core
• essence
• gist
• nub