inflection point

noun

1

: a moment when significant change occurs or may occur : turning point

At 18, Bobby is at an inflection point that will largely determine the course of his life.

—Stacy Perman

… the gradual move away from big-iron machines toward work stations and personal computers has been going on for years in corporate America—but the inflection point came suddenly.

—Steve Lohr

It depends on us, on the choices we make, particularly at certain inflection points in history; particularly when big changes are happening and everything seems up for grabs.

—Barack Obama

2

mathematics : a point on a curve that separates an arc concave upward from one concave downward and vice versa

Examples of inflection point in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The investment firm said that Clorox was at an inflection point and should see earnings upside going forward. —Hakyung Kim, CNBC, 1 Oct. 2024

For Han, who emigrated from South Korea to Germany in 1978 with her mother, the statue has begun to feel like more than just a badge of her heritage, but an inflection point in the city’s broader racial equality movement. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 21 Sep. 2024

Amidst the softest distribution market in decades, at the peak of its popularity, documentary filmmaking has reached an inflection point. —Matthew Carey, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2024

Our industry knows better than anyone else the persistent fortitude required to reach pivotal inflection points. —Robert Blum, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1708, in the meaning defined at sense 2