breaking point

noun

Definition of breaking pointnext
as in crisis
a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action tensions between the two nations had risen to the breaking point

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of breaking point Their relationship came to a breaking point when another student witnessed them kissing in January 2017. — Alex Gurley, People.com, 15 Mar. 2025 Others use it as a breaking point for transformation. — Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025 Despite all the pastor’s conventionality and sanctimony, there are flames between them, but those flickers run fairly cool until a breaking point in which Manders at last makes explicit reference to them. — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2025 There appeared to be a consensus Wednesday that Idaho’s child care industry is in crisis, with workers and parents stretched to a breaking point. — Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 6 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for breaking point
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking point
  1. crisis
  2. boiling point
  3. head
  4. flash point
Noun
  • That’s a stark contrast to Ange Postecoglou’s high-intensity pressing style at Tottenham Hotspur, which is often cited as one of the reasons behind Spurs’ injury crisis and subsequent poor form this season.
    — Steve Price, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Health workers are on the frontlines of disease, crises, and war, tirelessly working to save lives.
    — Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
Definition of crisis
Noun
  • So while the sun can heat the water enough to brew tea, the water isn’t reaching a simmer or boiling point, which would kill harmful bacteria.
    — Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 22 Mar. 2025
  • In previous seasons, the tension rises in each episode, with secrets uncovered and questions raised, before things ultimately hit a boiling point in the series finale, which has been known to be explosive.
    — Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
Definition of boiling point
Noun
  • Now, Maineri heads into year 12 with 18 pitchers on his roster, hoping that rising junior Caleb Gilbert and sophomore-to-be Zach Hess will emerge at the top of the pitching rotation.
    — John Roach, NOLA.com, 19 July 2017
  • Cal Fire representatives said the current parking mess has already impacted them because the driveway to their station enters the highway not far from the trail head.
    — J. Harry Jones, Ramona Sentinel, 19 July 2017
Definition of head
Noun
  • As Trump, in collaboration with Elon Musk, has embarked on efforts to decimate the federal government, public political gatherings—in particular, appearances by Republicans in their home districts—have become flash points for an angry citizenry.
    — Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2025
  • Maritime flash points Besides Taiwan, the U.S. and China remain fundamentally at odds over the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely as its own despite an opposing 2016 international court ruling.
    — Brad Dress, The Hill, 7 Jan. 2025
Definition of flash point

Browse Nearby Words

breaking out (with)
breaking point
breaking points
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Breaking point.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaking%20point. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

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