crux

[ kruhks ]

/ krʌks /

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See synonyms for crux on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural crux·es, cru·ces

[kroo-seez]. /ˈkru siz/.

a vital, basic, decisive, or pivotal point: The crux of the trial was his whereabouts at the time of the murder.

a cross.

something that torments by its puzzling nature; a perplexing difficulty.

OTHER WORDS FOR crux

1 essence, heart, core, gist.

See synonyms for crux on Thesaurus.com

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If autumn is your ideal season, spice up your repertoire of "fall" vocabulary with this quiz on some warm and vivid descriptive words for the season.

Question 1 of 10

Which of the following words means “to make a crackling sound; crackle”?

crisp

crepitate

fuscous

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Origin of crux

1635–45; <Latin: stake, scaffold, or cross used in executions, torment; figurative senses perhaps <New Latin crux (interpretum) (commentators') torment, a difficult passage in a text; cf. crucial

Words nearby crux

Cruveilhier-Baumgarten murmur, Cruveilhier-Baumgarten sign, Cruveilhier-Baumgarten syndrome, Cruveilhier's disease, Cruveilhier's sign, crux, crux ansata, crux of heart, crux of the matter, crux pilorum, Cruyff

Other definitions for crux (2 of 2)

Crux

[ kruhks ]

/ krʌks /

noun, genitive Cru·cis

[kroo-sis]. /ˈkru sɪs/. Astronomy.

Southern Cross.

Origin of Crux

<Latin: a cross

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use crux in a sentence

In keeping with the expert consensus on decarbonization, the crux of China’s odyssey is electrifying its economy as much as possible, from switching to electric vehicles to using electricity instead of coal for some industrial production.
China’s commitment to become carbon neutral by 2060, explained|Lili Pike|September 25, 2020|Vox
That’s the crux of Mulan, in which our heroine realizes, through pretending to be a perfect bride and pretending to be a perfect soldier and failing at both, that gender is ultimately performative.
Toward a queer Disney canon|Emily VanDerWerff|September 4, 2020|Vox
That’s the whole crux of the fight that’s happening right now with Tik Tok.
Podcast: Want consumer privacy? Try China|Michael Reilly|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review
The crux of this issue is in transitioning away from the view that work gives life meaning and life is about using work to survive, towards a view of living a life that itself is fulfilling and meaningful.
The Global Work Crisis: Automation, the Case Against Jobs, and What to Do About It|Peter Xing|August 6, 2020|Singularity Hub

It seems like the neighbor cells are the crux, in addition to the encoding neurons themselves, the team explained.
Towards ‘Eternal Sunshine’? New Links Found Between Memory and Emotion|Shelly Fan|July 28, 2020|Singularity Hub
The crux of the problem remains on this side of the Pacific.
Obama and Xi Jinping Say They’ll Work Together to Save Environment|Ben Leung|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The crux of the matter is not the date of the next elections, but ensuring that elections are free, fair, and clean.
Thailand: Into the Void|Lennox Samuels|March 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That, he says, is at the crux of why Pope Francis wants to train more exorcists.
Vatican and Pope Francis Seek New Demon Exorcists|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And yet, despite the banter, the crux of the issue is the feasibility of it all.
IVF for Just $300 Could Be a Reality Soon|Randi Hutter Epstein|August 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The crux is new representation: of body, of proportion, of aesthetic ideals.
Monsters of Fashion Exhibition Opens in Paris|Sarah Moroz|February 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The very word (crux) was used among them as a curse, especially in the form ad (malam) crucem.
The Private Life of the Romans|Harold Whetstone Johnston
Ah, that was it—that was the crux of the whole matter; and he remembered now that never once had she reproached him with that.
Katharine Frensham|Beatrice Harraden
Priests are portrayed in adoration of the crux ansata before phallic monuments.
The Sex Worship and Symbolism of Primitive Races|Sanger Brown, II
Every Sunday morning proved the crux of her experience, and Mrs. Caukins' nerves were correspondingly shaken.
Flamsted quarries|Mary E. Waller
The crux of the whole matter is not exhaustion, but a loss of control over the nervous forces.
Nervous Breakdowns and How to Avoid Them|Charles David Musgrove

British Dictionary definitions for crux (1 of 2)

crux

/ (krʌks) /

noun plural cruxes or cruces (ˈkruːsiːz)

a vital or decisive stage, point, etc (often in the phrase the crux of the matter)

a baffling problem or difficulty

mountaineering the most difficult and often decisive part of a climb or pitch

a rare word for cross

Word Origin for crux

C18: from Latin: cross

British Dictionary definitions for crux (2 of 2)

Crux

/ (krʌks) /

noun Latin genitive Crucis (ˈkruːsɪs)

the more formal name for the Southern Cross

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for crux

crux

[ krŭks, kruks ]

n. pl. crux•es

A cross or a crosslike structure.

crux

OTHER WORDS FOR crux

Origin of crux

Words nearby crux

Other definitions for crux (2 of 2)

Origin of Crux

Words related to crux

How to use crux in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for crux (1 of 2)

Word Origin for crux

British Dictionary definitions for crux (2 of 2)

Medical definitions for crux