threshold

American  

[thresh-ohld, thresh-hohld] / ˈθrɛʃ oʊld, ˈθrɛʃ hoʊld /

noun

thresholds plural

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.

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threshold British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• thresholds
  plural

Etymology

Origin of threshold

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

Explanation

A threshold is what you step across when you enter a room. A threshold takes you from one place into another, and when you're about to start something new, you're also on a threshold. A threshold is a point of departure or transition. Graduation can mark a threshold — when you graduate from circus school, you're standing at the threshold of your new career as a trapeze artist. Another kind of threshold is a limit or boundary. If you have a high threshold for pain, you can tolerate a lot of it, and your dentist can drill away without worrying about your squirming and howling.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

threshold thresholds

The time-restricted group also made fewer mistakes on tests involving memory and learning, although that difference did not reach the threshold of being statistically significant.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

In the short term, pH remained above the threshold associated with enamel damage.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026

Billionaire U.S. investor Kenneth Dart has raised his stake in Swedish gaming group Evolution AB to around 30.02%, passing the threshold that requires the launch of a mandatory takeover offer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

Both places are forecast to see temperatures drop beneath the heatwave threshold for the first time in 21 consecutive days.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

Autumn hooks her arm into mine, and together we step over the threshold.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Research has linked synchronized movement with social bonding and increased pain thresholds, while studies of dance and movement therapy have found benefits for depression, anxiety and interpersonal functioning.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

Prior cases have set thresholds for industry concentration allowable under U.S. antitrust law.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

As inflation has pushed many everyday prices above familiar thresholds, products that remain below those thresholds may stand out more than before, she said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Northerly winds should bring slightly lower temperatures by the weekend - albeit still above the seasonal norm, with a chance that heatwave thresholds could still be met in the south.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

In Calcutta—in Berlin, Peshawar, Delhi, Dhaka—men like this seem to turn up every day, appearing out of nowhere off the streets and walking unannounced into houses, stepping casually over thresholds into their past.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• brink
• verge