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.

3. 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

/ ˈtɪpɪŋ /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tipping point¹

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

“We don’t want that. And I’ll tell you, people are at a tipping point.”

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"Our climate system has been through so many different changes that we really need to be able to go back in time to understand these different processes and different tipping points," she says.

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“The tipping point has not only been reached, it has been breached,” she said.

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If recent and coming changes become a tipping point, it won’t be because of some unpredictable global event.

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Another senior MP hopes "we have now passed a tipping point where there is suddenly a lot happening".

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