tipping point
Americannoun
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the point at which an issue, idea, product, etc., crosses a certain threshhold and gains significant momentum, triggered by some minor factor or change.
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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.
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Physics. the point at which an object is no longer balanced, and adding a small amount of weight can cause it to topple.
noun
Etymology
Origin of tipping point
First recorded in 1955–60
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 bond market reached a tipping point this week when the 10-year U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
"This is national and international infrastructure," he said, warning that the ecological system underpinning it is "approaching a tipping point".
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
"If the temperature acted as a trigger, it seems that it needed to wait until the rock was right at the tipping point of collapse," she added.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
Read: This could be the 10-year Treasury’s tipping point into the danger zone.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
The tipping point came in Berlin, in November 1989, when the East German government gave in to pressure to ease travel across the Berlin Wall.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
