critical mass

[krit-i-kuhl mas] / ˈkrɪt ɪ kəl ˈmæs /

NOUN

crucial point

Synonyms

WEAK

climax crisis crisis point critical juncture critical point critical stage crossroads crucial moment crunch time decisive moment defining moment do or die time emergency high noon irreversible momentum moment of truth pivotal point point of no return sink or swim time the Rubicon turning point zero hour

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

What happens next depends on whether this thing achieves a critical mass of meme status.

From Barron's • Apr. 16, 2026

In the modern music industry, with listening splintered across various streaming services and social-media platforms, it’s hard to write any song, much less a protest song, that reaches a critical mass of listeners.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026

"And therefore, because there's no critical mass, they are really not part of the core of this small start-up village. And therefore, in my opinion we need to create critical mass."

From BBC • Dec. 7, 2025

Media fragmentation and the constant flow of information are presented as making it harder for scandals to reach critical mass, as new controversies quickly displace previous ones.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 30, 2025

Which means that in the suburbs and exurbs it’s hard to generate the critical mass needed to ignite truly bad behavior.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

critical mass

Example Sentences

Related Words