cardinal point

American  

[kahr-din-uhl point] / ˈkɑr dɪn əl ˈpɔɪnt /

noun

plural

cardinal points

1. a crucial point in an argument, agenda, history, etc.; key fact or idea.

2. any of the four main points of the compass: north, south, east, or west.

---

cardinal point Scientific  

1. One of the four principal directions on a compass (north, south, east, or west).

---

Example Sentences

In this now classic treatise on apocalyptic thinking in fiction, Kermode argues that it “is commonplace to talk about our historical situation as uniquely terrible and in a way privileged, a cardinal point in time.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2016

Detached, confident, unflappable, the new Prime Minister promptly began to operate on the premise that a cardinal point of British foreign policy nowadays is the amount of influence it can exert over U.S. foreign policy.

From Time Magazine Archive

But a cardinal point in modern German military theory is that allies should fight separately.

From Time Magazine Archive

On Capitol Hill a cardinal point was made in implementing U.S. participation in UNO.

From Time Magazine Archive

As each year-sign was identified with a cardinal point and an element and was permanently associated with a particular color, the mere employment of the latter would suffice to convey this association of ideas.

From The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World Civilizations by Nuttall, Zelia