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

Europe is also at an inflection point economically and will need to decide on how to increase its competitiveness. —Sam Jacobs, TIME, 16 Jan. 2025

As the conversation wrapped up, both agreed that Charlotte’s arts scene is at an inflection point. —The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 16 Jan. 2025

Social Venture Partners looks for nonprofits that have enough size and are typically at an inflection point, ready to grow, increase their impact, or make substantial improvements. —Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Jan. 2025

Those final, unknown costs and eventual payouts coincide with an inflection point in California's home insurance market, the biggest in the U.S., in the age of climate change. —Natalie Escobar, NPR, 14 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1708, in the meaning defined at sense 2