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jumping-off place

[juhm-ping-awf, -of]
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR jumping-off place ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a place for use as a starting point: Paris was the jumping-off place for our tour of Europe.
an out-of-the-way place; the farthest limit of anything settled or civilized.

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Origin of jumping-off place

An Americanism dating back to 1820–30
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for jumping-off place

jumping-off place

jumping-off point

noun

a starting point, as in an enterprise
a final or extreme condition
Canadian a place where one leaves civilization to go into the wilderness
US a very remote spot
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
Idioms and Phrases with jumping-off place

jumping-off place or point

1

A starting point for a journey or venture, as in This tiny village is the jumping-off place for our trek into the desert. This usage probably alludes to jumping into the water. [Early 1800s]

2

A very remote spot; also, the last place to be reached. For example, This was the jumping-off point for the first gold miners in Alaska. [Early 1800s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.