juncture

American  

[juhngk-cher] / ˈdʒʌŋk tʃər /

noun

1. a point of time, especially one made critical or important by a concurrence of circumstances.

   At this juncture, we must decide whether to stay or to walk out.

2. a serious state of affairs; crisis.

   The matter has reached a juncture and a decision must be made.

3. the line or point at which two bodies are joined; joint or articulation; seam.

4. the act of joining.

5. the state of being joined.

6. something by which two things are joined.

7. Phonetics.

   1. a pause or other phonological feature or modification of a feature, as the lengthening of a preceding phoneme or the strengthening of a following one, marking a transition or break between sounds, especially marking the phonological boundary of a word, clause, or sentence: it is present in such words as night-rate and re-seed and absent in such words as nitrate and recede.

   2. the point in a word or group of words at which such a pause or other junctural marker occurs.

---

juncture British  

/ ˈdʒʌŋktʃə /

noun

1. a point in time, esp a critical one (often in the phrase at this juncture )

2. linguistics

   1. a pause in speech or a feature of pronunciation that introduces, accompanies, or replaces a pause

   2. the set of phonological features signalling a division between words, such as those that distinguish a name from an aim

3. a less common word for junction

---

juncture Idioms  

1. see at this point (juncture).

---

Related Words

See junction.

Etymology

Origin of juncture

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin junctūra, equivalent to junct(us) ( junction ) + -ūra -ure

Explanation

A juncture is a crucial point in time when a decision must be made. At this juncture, a president might say, the government must decide whether to go ahead with war or to try to solve things diplomatically. A juncture is a joint or connection between two things. Originally used in the physical sense, it has broadened in meaning to refer to an often urgent decision-making crossroads. At some point you and your partner will reach a critical juncture and have to decide whether to get serious or break up. It can also simply mean "point in time." She had never learned how to drive and, at this juncture, she knew she never would.

Example Sentences

Its daily chart shows it at a critical juncture as a bear flag formation takes shape.

From Barron's • Apr. 6, 2026

The band is pitched right at a difficult juncture at which their artistic ambitions abut real, life-altering attention.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

In an exclusive interview at his Jerusalem residence, the Israeli head of state also said the US-Israeli war with Iran marked a "historical juncture".

From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026

“What we want to do at this juncture in the year is to leave ourselves maximum flexibility to operate in this environment,” said Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey, in an interview.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026

Yet, attempts to answer these questions had all become mired at precisely the same juncture.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• crossroad