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.

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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

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juncture Idioms  

1. see at this point (juncture).

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Synonym Usage

See junction.

Etymology

Origin of juncture

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin junctūra, equivalent to junct(us) ( see 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

Pakistan army chief Asim Munir was headed to Iran to push forward the effort to head off the fighting, a sign that talks were at a critical juncture.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

Xi told Putin that the Middle East was at a "critical juncture" and called for an "early end to the conflict", in particular to secure energy supplies.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

But the production crisis, which has rocked Hollywood and pummeled its workforce, has reached a critical juncture.

From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2026

At this juncture, it will be difficult to find current shareholders willing to make their shares available at a price significantly below the price at which shares will be offered to the public.

From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026

At this juncture she went up to Olympus to talk to Jupiter.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Related Words

• crossroad