boiling point

noun

Definition of boiling pointnext
as in crisis
a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action when the situation reached the boiling point, the President had no choice but to order out the National Guard

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of boiling point Water temperatures in the area ranged from 185 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, near the boiling point at Yellowstone's elevation. — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 24 June 2026 With the tension in the villa growing and reaching a boiling point following Casa Amor, Miller and Pessoa faced backlash over their takes on the latest Aftersun episode, which streamed on Saturday, June 26. — Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 28 June 2026 Of all the elements on the periodic table, tungsten, first isolated in 1783, has the highest melting point (6,192 degrees Fahrenheit) and boiling point (10,706 degrees F, about the temperature of the sun’s surface). — Ari Sen, Scientific American, 13 June 2026 Speaking about the tumultuous relationship on a 2024 episode of SiriusXM's This Life of Mine with James Corden, Miller reflected on the boiling point between the scandalous affair and the chaos of the paparazzi and tabloids hounding them. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 17 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for boiling point
Recent Examples of Synonyms for boiling point
  1. crisis
  2. breaking point
  3. head
  4. flash point
Noun
  • Andrea Davis, president and CEO of The Resiliency Initiative, has spent 25 years planning emergency response and crisis management for organizations including Disney, Walmart, the FIFA World Cup and Times Square's New Year's Eve celebration.
    — Bryan West, USA Today, 3 July 2026
  • Psychological trauma is also emerging as a major secondary crisis.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 3 July 2026
Definition of crisis
Noun
  • Keep in mind, there is a breaking point.
    — Shep Hyken, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026
  • Three of the Netherlands’ four goals came from this method, as Gakpo, Dumfries and Summerville stretched the Swedish defence to breaking point and opened up additional space in the middle.
    — Carl Anka, New York Times, 20 June 2026
Definition of breaking point
Noun
  • Use the ax head of a garden mattock to cut through the roots at the base of the stump.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 5 July 2026
  • The debate usually comes to a head in the summer, when high inland temperatures send bigger crowds to the beach, sometimes straining the mood of residents who live there.
    — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of head
Noun
  • Shakespeare’s haughty Roman war hero, revered on the battlefield yet reviled by hungry plebeians, becomes the flash point in a young democracy tearing itself apart over power and sacrifice.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
  • The protests became a flash point, sparking similar incidents in several other cities in Tennessee and at least one in Florida.
    — Rachel Tepper Paley, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 July 2026
Definition of flash point

Browse Nearby Words

boiling over
boiling point
boiling points
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Boiling point.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/boiling%20point. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on boiling point

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about boiling point

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