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
Companies that prepare ahead of time will be rewarded; those that don’t risk being forced to change only once the crisis gets to a breaking point.
—
Justin Worland, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
With talks getting nowhere, Parsons' growing frustrations reached their breaking point during training camp.
—Kevin McCormick, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025
What makes this crisis particularly maddening is that much of the demand driving infrastructure to breaking point shouldn't exist.
—Tomás O’Leary, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Next to the Comet, the de Haviland museum displays a section of fuselage that was tested to breaking point.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for breaking point
Justin Worland, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
With talks getting nowhere, Parsons' growing frustrations reached their breaking point during training camp.
—Kevin McCormick, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025
What makes this crisis particularly maddening is that much of the demand driving infrastructure to breaking point shouldn't exist.
—Tomás O’Leary, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Next to the Comet, the de Haviland museum displays a section of fuselage that was tested to breaking point.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for breaking point
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking point
Noun
-
Over the past decade and a half, millions from the Middle East, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia arrived amid successive crises in Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, and beyond.—
Daniel Ross Goodman,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Jan. 2026
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Of course, 2008 was the start of the subprime mortgage crisis, which led to the Great Recession and housing crash, when the market was flooded with distressed homes, giving buyers all the power.—
Diana Olick,
CNBC,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The outrage has been growing and finally may have reached boiling point.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Things came to a boiling point after the poster mentioned wanting to move closer to her own family, which is about 10 hours away.—
Meredith Wilshere,
PEOPLE,
21 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Several districts in Kyiv were hit in the attack and an emergency medical aid worker was among those killed, according to Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko.—
Michael Sinkewicz,
FOXNews.com,
9 Jan. 2026
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Be sure to cover your head and neck with your arms, and crawl under a sturdy table if possible.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Harris said that dynamic reflects how education has become a flash point for national politics.—
Nora O'Neill,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Nov. 2025
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The already tense relations between Condé Nast and the union representing many of its editorial workers hit a new flash point this week.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Breaking point.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaking%20point. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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