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

Louisville is at an interesting inflection point because, while bourbon tourism has transformed it, bourbon consumption globally has peaked, as younger generations drink less and tariffs impact American goods. —Adam Sachs, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Mar. 2026

The game would be an inflection point in the school’s history, the one that vaulted them into the school’s first Final Four and, really, who-knows-how-many-more once the barrier was broken. —Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2026

The demo could mark a genuine inflection point. —Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 28 Mar. 2026

There is a line of sight to a real inflection point that will take shares to the triple digits. —Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 27 Mar. 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