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
Many top players reached a breaking point during last season, the second year of having a full schedule of 12-day ATP and WTA 1000 tournaments, one rung below the four majors.
—
Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2026
What was the breaking point that led you to that decision?
—Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 15 Jan. 2026
With talks getting nowhere, Parsons' growing frustrations reached their breaking point during training camp.
—Kevin McCormick, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 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
Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2026
What was the breaking point that led you to that decision?
—Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 15 Jan. 2026
With talks getting nowhere, Parsons' growing frustrations reached their breaking point during training camp.
—Kevin McCormick, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 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
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The trek aimed to promote national healing, unity and compassion as the nation faces challenges of division, mental health crises and conflict both at home and abroad.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
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Each of these three leaders faces a crisis on the world stage but also with their own conscience.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The Charlotte Hornets big man reached a boiling point with Detroit’s Jalen Duren on Monday night and simply had enough.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Feb. 2026
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Over 30 years ago, Los Angeles reached a boiling point following the acquittal of four police officers who brutally beat Rodney King.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Chinese companies have excelled at rapid deployment in consumer-facing applications and integrating AI into industrial use, said Deepika Giri, head of AI research at market research firm IDC.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
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At one point, the individual appears to tilt their head away from a doorbell camera, hold a flashlight in their mouth and attempt to cover the lens with a gloved hand and what looked like part of a plant pulled from the yard.—
Bradford Betz , Matt Finn,
FOXNews.com,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The incident became a flash point in ongoing debates over whether immigration officials had gone too far in detaining a young boy.—
Alicia Victoria Lozano,
NBC news,
6 Feb. 2026
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Minneapolis has become a flash point for clashes between federal immigration enforcement agents and agitators, particularly after the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.—
Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Breaking point.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breaking%20point. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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