See tipping point in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for tipping point meaning in English (9.5kB)
{
"etymology_text": "First use of the term appears c. 1959 in the New York Times.",
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"pos": "noun",
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"_dis1": "16 39 41 4",
"word": "catastrophe theory"
},
{
"_dis1": "16 39 41 4",
"word": "critical point"
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"word": "watershed moment"
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"The point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible, often with dramatic consequences."
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"(mathematics, catastrophe theory, figuratively, by extension) The point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible, often with dramatic consequences."
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"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "54 14 20 12",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"word": "引爆點"
},
{
"_dis1": "54 14 20 12",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "yǐnbàodiǎn",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"word": "引爆点"
},
{
"_dis1": "54 14 20 12",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"word": "臨界點"
},
{
"_dis1": "54 14 20 12",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "línjièdiǎn",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"word": "临界点"
},
{
"_dis1": "54 14 20 12",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"word": "keikahduspiste"
},
{
"_dis1": "54 14 20 12",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "point de bascule"
},
{
"_dis1": "54 14 20 12",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "point critique"
},
{
"_dis1": "54 14 20 12",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Kipppunkt"
},
{
"_dis1": "54 14 20 12",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Wendepunkt"
},
{
"_dis1": "54 14 20 12",
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "hvarfpunktur"
},
{
"_dis1": "54 14 20 12",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "ponto de inflexão"
},
{
"_dis1": "54 14 20 12",
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"word": "punct critic"
},
{
"_dis1": "54 14 20 12",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"tags": [
"masculine"
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"word": "punto de inflexión"
},
{
"_dis1": "54 14 20 12",
"code": "es",
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"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"tags": [
"masculine"
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"word": "momento crítico"
}
]
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"glosses": [
"A point in time when a group rapidly and dramatically changes its behavior by widely adopting a previously rare practice."
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"(sociology) A point in time when a group rapidly and dramatically changes its behavior by widely adopting a previously rare practice."
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"A point in time when a group rapidly and dramatically changes its behavior by widely adopting a previously rare practice.",
"The point in time at which some new technology becomes mainstream."
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"raw_glosses": [
"(sociology) A point in time when a group rapidly and dramatically changes its behavior by widely adopting a previously rare practice.",
"The point in time at which some new technology becomes mainstream."
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"examples": [
{
"text": "Coordinate term: tipping element"
},
{
"ref": "2005 August 11, Ian Sample, “Warming hits 'tipping point'”, in The Guardian",
"text": "It is a scenario climate scientists have feared since first identifying \"tipping points\" - delicate thresholds where a slight rise in the Earth's temperature can cause a dramatic change in the environment that itself triggers a far greater increase in global temperatures.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2021 August 5, Damian Carrington, “Climate crisis: Scientists spot warning signs of Gulf Stream collapse”, in The Guardian",
"text": "Climate scientists have detected warning signs of the collapse of the Gulf Stream, one of the planet’s main potential tipping points.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"An irreversible change in the climate system."
],
"id": "en-tipping_point-en-noun-HgHDisIA",
"links": [
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],
"raw_glosses": [
"(climatology) An irreversible change in the climate system."
],
"topics": [
"climatology",
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"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "4 17 17 62",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "irreversible change in the climate system",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Klimakipppunkt"
}
]
}
],
"wikipedia": [
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],
"word": "tipping point"
}
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"etymology_text": "First use of the term appears c. 1959 in the New York Times.",
"forms": [
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"(mathematics, catastrophe theory, figuratively, by extension) The point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible, often with dramatic consequences."
],
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"(sociology) A point in time when a group rapidly and dramatically changes its behavior by widely adopting a previously rare practice."
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"text": "Coordinate term: tipping element"
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{
"ref": "2021 August 5, Damian Carrington, “Climate crisis: Scientists spot warning signs of Gulf Stream collapse”, in The Guardian",
"text": "Climate scientists have detected warning signs of the collapse of the Gulf Stream, one of the planet’s main potential tipping points.",
"type": "quotation"
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"translations": [
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"word": "引爆點"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "yǐnbàodiǎn",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"word": "引爆点"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"word": "臨界點"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "línjièdiǎn",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"word": "临界点"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"word": "keikahduspiste"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "point de bascule"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "point critique"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Kipppunkt"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Wendepunkt"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "hvarfpunktur"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "ponto de inflexão"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"word": "punct critic"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "punto de inflexión"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "the point at which a slow, reversible change becomes irreversible",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "momento crítico"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "irreversible change in the climate system",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Klimakipppunkt"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"New York Times"
],
"word": "tipping point"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
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