inflection point

noun

1

: a moment when significant change occurs or may occur : turning point

At 18, Bobby is at an inflection point that will largely determine the course of his life.

—Stacy Perman

… the gradual move away from big-iron machines toward work stations and personal computers has been going on for years in corporate America—but the inflection point came suddenly.

—Steve Lohr

It depends on us, on the choices we make, particularly at certain inflection points in history; particularly when big changes are happening and everything seems up for grabs.

—Barack Obama

2

mathematics : a point on a curve that separates an arc concave upward from one concave downward and vice versa

Examples of inflection point in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The inflection point between 2027 and 2028, when EMARKETER projects spending to jump from $4.77 billion to $12.65 billion, likely coincides with platforms rolling out premium placement layers on top of their free catalog feeds. —Kiri Masters, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025

This suggests an inflection point, at which higher risks raise interest rates, which destabilizes the debt, which raises interest rates, and so on. —Clive Crook, Twin Cities, 29 May 2025

JPMorgan upgrades Vail to neutral from underweight JPMorgan said the skiing and resort company is at an inflection point. —Michael Bloom, CNBC, 28 May 2025

The 25-year-old stands at an inflection point in his NFL future, a payday dangling as his rookie contract expires. —Luca Evans, Denver Post, 28 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1708, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for inflection point

• adjoint
• anoint
• appoint
• checkpoint
• conjoint
• disjoint
• endpoint
• gunpoint
• midpoint
• nonpoint
• pinpoint
• standpoint