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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 breaking point
Windows is at breaking point, and Microsoft knows it.
—
Tom Warren, The Verge, 29 Jan. 2026
Harbaugh, in 18 years, won a Super Bowl, and the Ravens were perennially in the playoff picture, but his inability to beat a Steelers’ squad in a game in which his tight end dropped a two-point conversion, and his rookie kicker missed the game-winning field goal, was the breaking point.
—Gladys Louise Tyler, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
The breaking point of the Chiefs’ season came a week before they were eliminated from playoff contention, and a week before quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a knee injury that will now occupy his offseason.
—Sam McDowell 23, Kansas City Star, 23 Jan. 2026
What was the breaking point that led you to that decision?
—Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 15 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for breaking point
Tom Warren, The Verge, 29 Jan. 2026
Harbaugh, in 18 years, won a Super Bowl, and the Ravens were perennially in the playoff picture, but his inability to beat a Steelers’ squad in a game in which his tight end dropped a two-point conversion, and his rookie kicker missed the game-winning field goal, was the breaking point.
—Gladys Louise Tyler, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
The breaking point of the Chiefs’ season came a week before they were eliminated from playoff contention, and a week before quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a knee injury that will now occupy his offseason.
—Sam McDowell 23, Kansas City Star, 23 Jan. 2026
What was the breaking point that led you to that decision?
—Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 15 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for breaking point
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breaking point
Noun
-
Since the pandemic, South Florida’s housing crisis has only exacerbated the issue at already overwhelmed animal shelters.—
Amanda Rosa
April 9,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Concurrently, mental-health crises among teens have become legion.—
Jeannie Suk Gersen,
New Yorker,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Even engineering heavyweights and frontier labs are losing ground as users are demanding more than hyperscalers are prepared to deliver—a tension that’s reached a boiling point as teams like OpenAI race to ship both breakthrough capabilities and unprecedented uncertainty at the same time.—
Sumeet Vaidya,
Fortune,
3 Apr. 2026
-
With your savvy planetary ruler, Mercury, meeting both Saturn and Mars in your 11th house of community, tensions among friends, collaborators or within a larger community could reach a boiling point.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Be sure to cover your head and neck with your arms, and crawl under a sturdy table if possible.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Gets drilled up high in the wrist his second at-bat and then third one takes a good swing and then throws the next one head-high.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Salvadoran national’s case has become a flash point in immigration debates after he was mistakenly deported last year and forcibly brought back.—
Travis Loller,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Lebanon becomes the flash point The single biggest point of contention, and now the most violent, is Lebanon.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Breaking point.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaking%20point. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
