crucial
Americanadjective
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involving an extremely important decision or result; decisive; critical.
a crucial experiment.
- Synonyms:
- significant, essential, vital, momentous
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severe; trying.
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of the form of a cross; cross-shaped.
adjective
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involving a final or supremely important decision or event; decisive; critical
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informal very important
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slang very good
Usage
What does crucial mean? Crucial means extremely important or involving an extremely important decision or course of action. Close synonyms are critical and decisive.The word crucial is usually used to describe pivotal moments, choices, or actions that will affect everything that follows, as in We’re at a crucial point in the process—we need to make some big decisions. Sometimes, crucial is simply used to describe something that’s extremely important, as in Getting enough sleep is crucial for staying healthy. Example: I can’t express how absolutely crucial it is to surround yourself with the right friends.
Other Word Forms
- cruciality noun
- crucially adverb
- noncrucial adjective
- noncrucially adverb
- precrucial adjective
Etymology
Origin of crucial
First recorded in 1700–10; from Latin cruci- (stem of crux cross ( def. ) ) + -al 1 ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Moroccan events mogul played a crucial role connecting global elites at Davos - a role he would later help fulfil for the Clinton Global Initiative conference.
From BBC
Free trade with the United States is crucial to the Canadian economy.
From Barron's
In one crucial way, AI-generated code will be less valuable than open source.
These internal frameworks give the droplets a defined architecture that is crucial for how they work.
From Science Daily
Then came work on measuring the shape of ocean surfaces, a crucial element in creating the geodetic models of Earth needed for GPS.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
