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.

---

tipping point British  

/ ˈtɪpɪŋ /

noun

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

---

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

“The debt limits, the tipping point, are probably lower for developing countries.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 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

Nichols came to California at a tipping point.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

The tipping point came in Berlin, in November 1989, when the East German government gave in to pressure to ease travel across the Berlin Wall.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin