turning point
Americannoun
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turning points
plural
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a point at which a decisive change takes place; critical point; crisis.
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a point at which something changes direction, especially a high or low point on a graph.
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Surveying. a point temporarily located and marked in order to establish the elevation or position of a surveying instrument at a new station.
noun
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a moment when the course of events is changed
the turning point of his career
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a point at which there is a change in direction or motion
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maths a stationary point at which the first derivative of a function changes sign, so that typically its graph does not cross a horizontal tangent
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surveying a point to which a foresight and a backsight are taken in levelling; change point
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of turning point
First recorded in 1850–55
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“They’re unconscionable, and should serve as a turning point in California’s failed state prison system, and the way they handle these types of allegations.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The findings may also help explain a major turning point in vertebrate evolution: the rise of birds.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026
But there's limited optimism that this will be a real turning point.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
The shift in tone marks a turning point following nearly two years of fierce confrontation over UniCredit's attempt to take control of the German bank.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
The treatment accorded the Negro during the Second World War marks, for me, a turning point in the Negro’s relation to America.
From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
