as in crisis
a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action
tensions between the two nations had risen to the breaking point
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Recent Examples of breaking point
The tension between engineering and finance reached a breaking point with the 737 MAX as the company tried to compete with Airbus.
—
John Pacenti, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
But the issue that's the crux of this, that Iran cannot be permitted to have a nuclear weapon, which is what the Vice President stood before the world and said that Iran is unwilling to declare, just yesterday, which was the breaking point of the negotiations, has been the subject of hearings.
—CBS News, 12 Apr. 2026
That new evidence was the breaking point for Disney, and one wonders if that’ll reverberate through the ailing Bachelor franchise, which was supposed to have a fresh new star in Paul from one of Disney’s more recently popular reality series.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2026
Separate research has shown that half of workers are at breaking point right now.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for breaking point
John Pacenti, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
But the issue that's the crux of this, that Iran cannot be permitted to have a nuclear weapon, which is what the Vice President stood before the world and said that Iran is unwilling to declare, just yesterday, which was the breaking point of the negotiations, has been the subject of hearings.
—CBS News, 12 Apr. 2026
That new evidence was the breaking point for Disney, and one wonders if that’ll reverberate through the ailing Bachelor franchise, which was supposed to have a fresh new star in Paul from one of Disney’s more recently popular reality series.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2026
Separate research has shown that half of workers are at breaking point right now.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for breaking point
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking point
Noun
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Boos rained down from the stands with Slot facing the first crisis of his tenure.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
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Tran reiterated his call for state and federal investigation and accountability once the crisis has been averted.—
Victoria Le,
Oc Register,
27 May 2026
Noun
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Moreover, as the tension between Penelope and Casey reaches a boiling point, Lori and Malcolm let the girls sort things out for themselves.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
15 May 2026
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The bad blood that had festered between the two competitors came to a boiling point.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
11 May 2026
Noun
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Saugus has won multiple playoff games in each of its first two seasons under head coach Mike Miller.—
Justin Vigil Zuniga,
Daily News,
27 May 2026
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Minter departed at the end of the season to become the Ravens’ head coach and former Chargers safeties coach Chris O’Leary returned this past winter from a one-season stint as the defensive coordinator at Western Michigan to replace Minter.—
Elliott Teaford,
Oc Register,
27 May 2026
Noun
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Death is often a flash point for communal anger.—
Gabrielle Emanuel,
NPR,
29 May 2026
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That’s a huge flash point in American society, far beyond this play.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Breaking point.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaking%20point. Accessed 30 May. 2026.
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