Carl Van Doren
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In Latin, crux referred literally to an instrument of torture, often a cross or stake, and figuratively to the torture and misery inflicted by means of such an instrument. Crux eventually developed the sense of "a puzzling or difficult problem"; that was the first meaning that was used when the word entered English in the early 18th century. Later, in the late 19th century, crux began to be used more specifically to refer to an essential point of a legal case that required resolution before the case as a whole could be resolved. Today, the verdict on crux is that it can be used to refer to any important part of a problem or argument, inside or outside of the courtroom.
Examples of crux in a Sentence
Jake Stern, Outside Online, 25 Apr. 2025
On Friday, the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency signed off on the deal — the main crux of our thesis in Capital One.
—Kevin Stankiewicz,matthew J. Belvedere, CNBC, 20 Apr. 2025
Landon continued that Barrera’s firing became a crux of how Hollywood was reacting to the Israel-Palestine conflict at the time in November 2023.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 9 Apr. 2025
The real crux of the song is in the bridge part, about wanting to tell the truth so that what happened to you doesn't happen to someone else.
—Tricia Despres, People.com, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crux
Cite this Entry
“Crux.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crux. Accessed 11 May. 2025.
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