turning point

noun

1. a point at which a decisive change takes place; critical point; crisis.
2. a point at which something changes direction, especially a high or low point on a graph.
3. Surveying. a point temporarily located and marked in order to establish the elevation or position of a surveying instrument at a new station.

turning point

noun

1. a moment when the course of events is changed

   the turning point of his career

2. a point at which there is a change in direction or motion
3. maths a stationary point at which the first derivative of a function changes sign, so that typically its graph does not cross a horizontal tangent
4. surveying a point to which a foresight and a backsight are taken in levelling; change point

Word History and Origins

Origin of turning point¹

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

The iPod, which launched in 2001, marked a turning point for the company, revolutionizing the way the world listens to music.

From Popular-Science

There’s a case to be made that 2020, for all the sacrifices it demanded and tragedies it inflicted, could at least mark a turning point on climate change.

From MIT Technology Review

This proved a significant turning point in the Senate for Democrats, however, because half of these seats would be filled by Republicans.

From FiveThirtyEight

Apple, for example, is not-so-secretly developing a pair of AR glasses, which they hope will deliver a mainstream turning point for the technology.

From Singularity Hub 

The turning point came in the fall, as the temperature dropped.

From Fortune

The Butterbrief, issued by Pope Innocent VIII, was a turning point for the then bland Stollen, which gradually became sweeter.

From The Daily Beast

“Here It Goes Again” was a turning point for how people thought about the band.

From The Daily Beast

A turning point came some 25 years ago, when her close friend Carol contracted ovarian cancer.

From The Daily Beast

“A turning point in my life was when I watched the movie Titanic,” Yeonmi told the audience at the Oslo Freedom Forum.

From The Daily Beast

In the book, I have an interesting turning-point conversation with historian H.R. Trevor-Roper.

From The Daily Beast

He was very calm over it, was Jean Baptiste; but the turning point in his life had come.

From Project Gutenberg

Sir Matthew Fleet's visit seemed like a turning-point with the May family, rousing and giving them revived hopes.

From Project Gutenberg

In consequence of these reflections a great change comes over him, which is the turning-point of his history.

From Project Gutenberg

It is the high-water mark of the Rebellion,—a turning-point of history and of human destiny!

From Project Gutenberg

We come now to the great turning point in the modern history of Ireland-the Union.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• climax
• critical point
• crux
• culmination
• juncture
• twist