[, ] (usually uncountable in British English and countable in American English 英式英语为不可数名词，美式英语为可数名词) the time when problems become so great that a person, an organization or a system can no longer deal with them（问题到了难以遏制的）极限◆The economy is close to breaking point.经济濒临崩溃。◆The country's health-care system has reached a breaking point.国家的卫生保健制度已到了难以支撑的地步。