threshold

[thresh-ohld, thresh-hohld]

noun

1. the sill of a doorway.

2. the entrance to a house or building.

3. any place or point of entering or beginning.

   the threshold of a new career.

4. Also called limen. Psychology, Physiology.,  the point at which a stimulus is of sufficient intensity to begin to produce an effect.

   the threshold of consciousness; a low threshold of pain.

threshold

/ ˈθrɛʃˌhəʊld, ˈθrɛʃəʊld /

noun

1. Also called: doorsill. a sill, esp one made of stone or hardwood, placed at a doorway

2. any doorway or entrance

3. the starting point of an experience, event, or venture

   on the threshold of manhood

4. psychol the strength at which a stimulus is just perceived Compare absolute threshold difference threshold

   the threshold of consciousness

5. 1. a level or point at which something would happen, would cease to happen, or would take effect, become true, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      threshold price

      threshold effect

6. 1. the minimum intensity or value of a signal, etc, that will produce a response or specified effect

      a frequency threshold

   2. ( as modifier )

      a threshold current

7. (modifier) designating or relating to a pay agreement, clause, etc, that raises wages to compensate for increases in the cost of living

Word History and Origins

Origin of threshold¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English threschold, Old English threscold, threscwald; cognate with Old Norse threskǫldr, dialectal Swedish träskvald; akin to thresh in earlier sense “trample, tread”; -old, -wald element of obscure origin

Word History and Origins

Origin of threshold¹

Old English therscold; related to Old Norse threskoldr, Old High German driscubli, Old Swedish thriskuldi

Example Sentences

Income thresholds for the tax break may limit its help for savers trying to convert large chunks of money.

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When the liquid was put into motion by shear, bubbles appeared suddenly once the force surpassed a specific threshold.

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"We are on the threshold of a new era," Machado said in a video posted on social media on Tuesday.

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The shooting happened in 2018, two years before a change in California law modified the threshold by which fatal uses of force are judged.

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“For Los Angeles, Thai has not made it to that point yet,” Chang said, adding that the department mandates services to be rendered in a client’s preferred language regardless of threshold status.

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Related Words

• brink 
• verge