moment of truth

American  

noun

1. the moment in a bullfight at which the matador is about to make the kill.

2. the moment at which one's character, courage, skill, etc., is put to an extreme test; critical moment.

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moment of truth British  

noun

1. a moment when a person or thing is put to the test

2. the point in a bullfight when the matador is about to kill the bull

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moment of truth Idioms  

1. A critical or decisive time, at which one is put to the ultimate test, as in Now that all the bills are in, we've come to the moment of truth—can we afford to live here or not? This expression, a translation of the Spanish el momento de la verdad, signifies the point in a bullfight when the matador makes the kill. It was first used in English in Ernest Hemingway's story Death in the Afternoon (1932).

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Etymology

Origin of moment of truth

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

The moment of truth came on June 16, 1994, when the opening game was held, by chance, at Soldier Field in my adopted hometown of Chicago.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

"What 2024 established was that Indian women filmmakers are not marginal voices, but leading global ones," says film critic Mayank Shekhar, calling it "a moment of truth" rather than a trend.

From BBC • Jan. 2, 2026

The other way small-caps could outperform is if AI stocks have a moment of truth.

From Barron's • Dec. 18, 2025

The moment of truth arrived … and Bella Jones rose to the occasion.

From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2025

It was the moment of truth, for both Lawrence and the bomb project.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik