tipping point

noun

Definition of tipping point

: the critical point in a situation, process, or system beyond which a significant and often unstoppable effect or change takes place

Examples of tipping point in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The most straightforward way to better integrate tipping points into IAMs would be to increase the steepness of the damage function. — David Roberts, Vox, "We are almost certainly underestimating the economic risks of climate change," 8 June 2018 The consequences for a stock like Caterpillar are just a lot more severe than most when investors sense that tipping point. — Charley Grant, WSJ, "Why Caterpillar Rolled Over," 23 Oct. 2018 The risk of tipping points The report also highlights the possibility that even modest amounts of warming may push both human societies and natural ecosystems past certain thresholds where sudden and calamitous changes can occur. — Nadja Popovich, The Seattle Times, "Why half a degree of global warming is a big deal," 9 Oct. 2018 North Korea and Iran represent tipping points in their regions. — Walter Russell Mead, WSJ, "John Bolton Is No Bugaboo," 26 Mar. 2018 One tip pointed investigators to Becker, according to the court document. — Bree Burkitt, azcentral, "Aunt of boy hurt in Bartlett Lake hit-and-run: Arrest brings relief but no fix," 16 Mar. 2018 Everyone has some intuition for tipping points from see-saws. — Nathan Hurst, Smithsonian, "Can Social Media Help Us Spot Vaccine Scares and Predict Outbreaks?," 19 Jan. 2018 For immigration restrictionists, the temptation of Trump was especially high, not unlike the urgency felt by climate-change activists over tipping points, with a choice between getting control of the border and losing it for good. — T.a. Frank, The Hive, "Roy Moore, Donald Trump, and the Flight 93 Presidency," 10 Dec. 2017 There may be tipping points in the climate system—difficult-to-predict points of no return—that researchers may not fully understand. — Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, "A Major New U.S. Report Affirms: Climate Change Is Getting Worse," 3 Nov. 2017

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

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The first known use of tipping point was in 1959

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