breaking point

noun

1

: the point at which a person gives way under stress

2

: the point at which a situation becomes critical

3

: the point at which something loses force or validity

stretch the rules to the breaking point

Synonyms

• boiling point
• clutch
• conjuncture
• crisis
• crossroad(s)
• crunch
• crunch time
• Dunkirk
• emergency
• exigency
• extremity
• flash point
• head
• juncture
• tinderbox
• zero hour

Examples of breaking point in a Sentence

tensions between the two nations had risen to the breaking point

Recent Examples on the Web

The fundraiser appears to have been a breaking point for Clooney. —Carol D. Leonnig, Washington Post, 12 July 2024

Novels from One Hundred Years of Solitude to The Great Gatsby to Atonement use heat as a structural and thematic device to intensify emotion and conflict, push things to a breaking point, and then generate catharsis. —Umair Irfan, Vox, 11 July 2024

And many electrical grids are being pushed to a breaking point due to increasingly frequent extreme weather and soaring demand for cooling. —Laura Paddison, CNN, 4 July 2024

Inflation finally pushed Mark Hawkes to a breaking point. —Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 12 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1865, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

breaking point

noun

: the point at which a person gives way under stress