A moment in time which joins two successive periods; a specific juncture in time; a critical point or moment. Now rare except in (in) the article (for…

The precise instant of time at which anything happens; the critical moment. prick of the day: daybreak. Obsolete.

= crisis, n. Also in various French phrases, esp. crise de (or des) nerfs, an attack of nerves, a fit of hysterics.

figurative. The condition of being pushed or pressed; the pressure of affairs or circumstances; a case or time of stress or urgency; a critical…

Chiefly in in (also at, upon) the (very) nick. The precise or exact point of time when something takes place or requires to be done; a critical or…

figurative. The decisive moment of plunging into action of doubtful issue; dangerous critical moment, critical point, crisis. (Latin discrīmen.) Obs…

Occurrence together in time, of events or circumstances; coincidence; a juncture.

A crucial or pivotal element; a critical moment, a turning point. Cf. hinge, n. 4. Obsolete.

In (the) nick of time (also occasionally opportunity,etc.) in the same sense.

A perilous path on a narrow ridge; figurative a sharp dividing line; a critical position or moment. (Sometimes with notion of 1; cf. ‘to walk on a…

= climacteric, n. 1. Obsolete.

A critical period or moment in history, a person's life or career, etc.

in the nick-time: in the nick of time.

An indefinite (usually short) period of time. See also phrases in phrases 1–phrases 6. A particular stage or period in a course of events or in the…

fig. A point at which a decisive change of any kind takes place; a critical point, crisis. (The usual sense.)

figurative. A turning point (in history, affairs, a person's life, etc.); a crucial time or occurrence.

(a) the moment at which something will or would have the greatest psychological effect; the psychologically appropriate moment; the critical…

= psychological moment n. at psychological, adj. n.compounds.

An indefinite (usually short) period of time. See also phrases in phrases 1–phrases 6. the time of the final sword-thrust in a bullfight; (in…

A crisis; a decisive point, event, confrontation, etc.; a show-down; esp. in to come to the crunch: to come to the point; to reach a show-down.

colloquial. A critical or vital point; a difficult or decisive question or problem.

figurative. Originally U.S. A crucial or pivotal moment; an event or confrontation which is likely to decide the final outcome of a situation.

= breaking-point n. at breaking, n. compounds 2; also, the point at which the situation in question changes, a turning point.

an event or occasion considered (esp. in retrospect) as epitomizing or determining the course of subsequent related events; a turning point.

figurative. The crucial hour, the moment when something reaches a crisis or comes to an end. Cf. eleventh hour at eleventh, adj. 1a, zero hour, n. 1…