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turning point (plural turning points)

1. A decisive point at which a significant change or historical event occurs, or at which a decision must be made.

   Synonyms: crossroads, watershed

   • 1997, Billie Joe Armstrong, “Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)”, performed by Green Day:

     Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road / Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go

   • 2012 April 23, Angelique Chrisafis, “François Hollande on top but far right scores record result in French election”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     Europe will be watching the final battle closely. A Hollande victory in the second round would be a turning point in European politics, a rare victory for the left in Europe, which has in recent years moved towards the right

2. (calculus) A maximum or minimum on a graph.
3. A crossroads.
4. A T-junction.
5. A place at which one changes their direction of travel.
   • 1953 July, Allen Rowley, “First Impressions of American Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 493:

     Chicago was the turning point of my journey and I left there at midnight abroad ^[sic] the "Chicagoan," an express of the New York Central System.

• momentous (English adjective-equivalent)
• tipping point