inflection point

noun

Definition of inflection point

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 To some extent this inflection point isn’t surprising. — Greg Ip, WSJ, 28 July 2022 The inflection point came after a surge in ransomware attacks, when some in the cyber insurance industry made a deliberate shift in their approaches. — Vincent Weafer, Forbes, 5 July 2022 Wright said an inflection point for the program came in 2013, when the Big East Conference broke up and universities with football programs, like Syracuse and Pittsburgh, moved on to bigger leagues that generated more revenue from football. — New York Times, 1 Apr. 2022 An inflection point has arrived for the United States and for democracy. — J.d. Crowe | Jdcrowe@al.com, al, 1 Mar. 2022 The major inflection point came in June 2013 when Instagram introduced 15-second clips, some former executives told The Verge in 2016 — the same year Vine finally broke away from its six-second rule, which, executives said, was three years too late. — NBC News, 17 Jan. 2022 The first inflection point was going from horses and buggies to motor vehicles a hundred-plus years ago. — Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 28 Dec. 2021 But the real inflection point came in 2018, when Ortega's government approved changes to the country's social security programs in an attempt to stem rising deficits within the program. — Natalie Gallón And Matt Rivers, CNN, 14 June 2021 The philanthropist and veteran school-reform advocate who served as education secretary under President Trump says the Covid pandemic was an inflection point. — Jason L. Riley, WSJ, 21 June 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'inflection point.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries Near inflection point

inflectionless

inflection point

inflexed

Statistics for inflection point

Last Updated

6 Aug 2022

Cite this Entry

“Inflection point.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inflection%20point. Accessed 9 Aug. 2022.

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