threshold
Pronunciation
  • (British) IPA: /ˈθɹeʃ(h)əʊld/
  • (America) IPA: /ˈθɹɛʃ(h)oʊld/
Noun

threshold (plural thresholds)

  1. The bottom-most part of a doorway that one crosses to enter; a sill.
  2. (by extension) An entrance; the door or gate of a house.
    • c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act I, scene iii], page 166 ↗, column Shy.}} You that did voide your rume vpon my beard, / And foote me as you ſpurne a ſtranger curre / Ouer your threſhold, {{...}:
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  3. (by extension) Any end or boundary.
  4. (figurative) The outset of something; the point of entry, or the beginning of an action.
    • 1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter xi ↗:
      I arrived at last, did obeisance to my uncle, and told him everything. He thought it over and said: ' […] At the threshold of death, how dare I give you permission to go to England, to cross the seas? But I will not stand in your way. It is your mother's permission which really matters. If she permit you, then godspeed! Tell her I will not interfere. You will go with my blessings.'
  5. The start of the landing area of a runway.
  6. (engineering) The quantitative point at which an action is triggered, especially a lower limit.
  7. The wage or salary at which income tax becomes due.
  8. The point where one mentally or physically is vulnerable in response to provocation or to particular things in general. As in emotions, stress, or pain.
Related terms Antonyms
  • (bottom-most part of a doorway) lintel
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • French: seuil
  • Russian: преддве́рие
Translations
  • French: seuil de tolérance



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