crux

noun

ˈkrəks How to pronounce crux (audio)
Definition of cruxnext
as in essence
the central part or aspect of something under consideration the crux of the problem is that the school's current budget is totally inadequate

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 crux The noise reached its crux during the Oklahoma State game, after which — coincidentally or not — Peterson started playing more. — Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 17 Mar. 2026 And midway up the ascent, Herson encountered an unbelievably challenging crux. — Frederick Dreier, Outside, 16 Mar. 2026 That, for him, was the practical crux. — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026 Climb Ice Cream features flavors named after terms familiar to climbers, such as pRappel (ube chocolate chip), K2 (spicy apple pie), Mount Matcha, v3 (vanilla), chocolate crux and more. — Samantha Gowen, Oc Register, 9 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for crux
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crux
  1. essence
  2. root
  3. core
  4. heart
  5. point
  6. kernel
Noun
  • And as Markus said before, this character is an essence of hundreds of female characters from that time who chose this exact path, and their choices were very different from each other.
    — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Though there are multiple interpretations of sharia, its essence is to serve as a code for how Muslims should live and worship — covering such matters as prayer, pilgrimages, fasting, charitable donations and personal virtue.
    — David Crary, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of essence
Noun
  • Supporters of the new approach say mandatory treatment addresses root causes, while research shows Housing First helps people remain housed.
    — Laura Ungar, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The clothing brand, known for its buttery soft denim pants, started in 2002 with the aim to combine British roots with the energy of New York City’s fashion with a modern twist.
    — Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of root
Noun
  • The safety filing delivers the core engineering and operational data needed for federal oversight.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Sayegh also puts her staying power down to her father’s influence, which instilled core values like honoring deals, treating people with respect and booking movies based on audience demand and not personal taste.
    — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of core
Noun
  • Brockman’s message received 40 hearts, five checkmarks, and three thank-you emojis.
    — Garrison Lovely, semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Many dietary recommendations overlap with long-standing heart-health advice, such as eating more fruits, vegetables and fish.
    — Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of heart
Noun
  • Trump carried it by roughly 12 percentage points in 2024, and Republican gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears carried it by about 8 points in 2025.
    — Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 30 Sep. 2026
  • But that seems to be what my career has flirted [with] consistently, at that meeting point.
    — Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of point
Noun
  • Meanwhile, Argon agents have been working to migrate C/C++ codebases to Rust across Google, including thousands of lines in the core re2 and libgav1 libraries and more than 800,000 lines in the Fuchsia OS Zircon kernel.
    — Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 30 Sep. 2026
  • What has that been like knowing that there are kernels of somebody’s real story in this fictional story?
    — Ronda Racha Penrice, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of kernel

Browse Nearby Words

crutches
crux
cruxes
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Crux.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crux. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on crux

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about crux

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All