breaking point
Americannoun
-
breaking points
plural
-
the point at which a person, object, structure, etc., collapses under stress.
-
the point at which a situation or condition becomes critical.
noun
-
the point at which something or someone gives way under strain
-
the moment of crisis in a situation
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of breaking point
First recorded in 1895–1900
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.
Investors are treating this week’s Federal Reserve meeting like a potential breaking point for the bull market.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
For one of the prison governors in the north of England, the situation is at breaking point.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
The stress of the role, he said, had driven him to a breaking point.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
What we saw onscreen, along with the catchy music she made, was, in her telling, the fruit of a creative yield achieved by pressing beyond her breaking point.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
Everyone had a breaking point, after all, and the fact that Joaquin had spent almost three years with Mark and Linda and he still hadn’t been able to find theirs made him nervous.
From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway
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.
