Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The point in a course of action beyond which reversal is not possible.
- n. The point in the flight of an aircraft beyond which there is insufficient fuel for return to the starting point.
Wiktionary
- n. The point in an aircraft's flight when there is insufficient fuel to reverse direction and return to the place of origin.
- n. The point in any journey, process, or sequence of events when it is no longer possible to reverse course or stop the process.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a line that when crossed permits of no return and typically results in irrevocable commitment
Examples
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Lists
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ramsler Related to the phrase, 'tipping point'. The distinction being that a 'point of no return' does not have any capability of being returned back to its starting state or position and is sometimes approached linearly without necessarily having a sudden acceleration past a certain point whereas a 'tipping point' implies the existence of multiple stable positions between which a system or object alternate and a non-linear change in the system or object at the tipping point. Jun 19, 2009