tipping point

American  

noun

1. the point at which an issue, idea, product, etc., crosses a certain threshhold and gains significant momentum, triggered by some minor factor or change.

2. the point in a situation at which a minor development precipitates a crisis.

   Every infected person brings us closer to the tipping point, when the outbreak becomes an epidemic.

3. Physics. the point at which an object is no longer balanced, and adding a small amount of weight can cause it to topple.

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tipping point British  

/ ˈtɪpɪŋ /

noun

1. the crisis stage in a process, when a significant change takes place

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Etymology

Origin of tipping point

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

But there is optionality on the dry bulk market getting tighter, and then, eventually, a potential exponential increase in freight rates once it hits a tipping point.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

Stocks would reach a tipping point in June if Europe was unable to replace at least half of its imports from the Middle East, the organisation said in a report this week.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

Investors have been trying to game out the tipping point at which the energy-price shock starts to have a bigger impact on unemployment and the economy.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026

“We feel like we’re at a tipping point with consumers,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

Some scholars believe we have long since passed a tipping point where the declining marginal return on imprisonment has dipped below zero.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander