threshold

American  

[thresh-ohld, thresh-hohld] / ˈθrɛʃ oʊld, ˈθrɛʃ hoʊld /

noun

• thresholds
  plural

1. 

   the sill of a doorway.

2. the entrance to a house or building.

3. any place or point of entering or beginning.

   the threshold of a new career.

4. Also called limen. Psychology, Physiology. the point at which a stimulus is of sufficient intensity to begin to produce an effect.

   the threshold of consciousness; a low threshold of pain.

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threshold British  

/ ˈθrɛʃˌhəʊld, ˈθrɛʃəʊld /

noun

1. Also called: doorsill. a sill, esp one made of stone or hardwood, placed at a doorway

2. any doorway or entrance

3. the starting point of an experience, event, or venture

   on the threshold of manhood

4. psychol the strength at which a stimulus is just perceived Compare absolute threshold difference threshold

   the threshold of consciousness

5. 1. a level or point at which something would happen, would cease to happen, or would take effect, become true, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      threshold price

      threshold effect

6. 1. the minimum intensity or value of a signal, etc, that will produce a response or specified effect

      a frequency threshold

   2. ( as modifier )

      a threshold current

7. (modifier) designating or relating to a pay agreement, clause, etc, that raises wages to compensate for increases in the cost of living

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• thresholds
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of threshold

First recorded before 900; Middle English threschold, Old English threscold, threscwald; cognate with Old Norse threskǫldr, dialectal Swedish träskvald; akin to thresh in earlier sense “trample, tread”; -old, -wald element of obscure origin

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Explanation

A threshold is what you step across when you enter a room. A threshold takes you from one place into another, and when you're about to start something new, you're also on a threshold. A threshold is a point of departure or transition. Graduation can mark a threshold — when you graduate from circus school, you're standing at the threshold of your new career as a trapeze artist. Another kind of threshold is a limit or boundary. If you have a high threshold for pain, you can tolerate a lot of it, and your dentist can drill away without worrying about your squirming and howling.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

threshold thresholds

The statistical significance depends on which observational datasets are combined, and the evidence remains below the threshold required to claim a definitive discovery.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 13, 2026

Last year, YouTube also began encouraging its moderators to leave up videos that may break its policies, increasing the threshold for offensive content to half a video, from a quarter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2026

As busier parents took to online shopping for their children, he said the company raised its threshold for free deliveries, driving shoppers toward its larger retail rivals.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 10, 2026

“We built for it. Every agent we run has an audit trail, a confidence threshold and a human checkpoint,” Sutherland’s Gilbert said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026

But this time as he crossed the threshold, Chess felt his mind clearing.

From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Inflation adjustments have also lifted tax brackets, the standard deduction, estate and gift-tax thresholds and many other tax provisions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2026

Savers have to be under income certain thresholds to put money in these accounts.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 12, 2026

Whether that rapid pace continues will have major consequences for how quickly the world reaches critical climate thresholds.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026

The landfill’s leachate is composed of concentrations of benzene above hazardous waste thresholds and, on occasion, methyl ethyl ketone above hazardous waste thresholds, as well as other harmful constituents at varying concentrations, the lawsuit said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

In Calcutta—in Berlin, Peshawar, Delhi, Dhaka—men like this seem to turn up every day, appearing out of nowhere off the streets and walking unannounced into houses, stepping casually over thresholds into their past.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

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