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

Several analysts, including Jefferies and UBS, point to the fact that an inflection point for Zealand will likely not come until 2027. —Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 19 June 2026

The yoke arose from an inflection point. —Robert Duffer, AJC.com, 19 June 2026

The event, which is expected to draw hundreds of scientists from across the globe, comes at an inflection point in the HCA’s ambitious aim to build a comprehensive reference map of all the different types of cells that make up a human body. —Megan Molteni, STAT, 16 June 2026

The 2007 inflection point looks less significant when zooming out to a broader timeframe, some experts say. —Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 12 June 2026

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