POINT OF NO RETURN Definition & Meaning

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point of no return

noun

Aviation.��the point in a flight at which an aircraft will lack sufficient fuel to return to its starting point.
the critical point in an undertaking, decision-making process, etc., where one has committed oneself irrevocably to a course of action or policy.

point of no return

noun

a point at which an irreversible commitment must be made to an action, progression, etc
a point in a journey at which, if one continues, supplies will be insufficient for a return to the starting place

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of point of no return¹

First recorded in 1940–45

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Idioms and Phrases

The place in a course of action beyond which reversal is not possible. For example, Once the contract is signed, we've reached the point of no return. This expression comes from aviation, where it signifies the point where an aircraft does not have enough fuel to return to the starting point. [c. 1940]

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Israel, and several Western countries, suspect that Iran has been secretly working towards what is called "breakout capability", meaning the point of no return in developing a viable nuclear weapon.

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Pattison says it took a long time to work up the nerve to hit "post" on X, because she knew it would be "the point of no return".

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They were fast approaching the point of no return.

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My mom’s cancer was diagnosed late and she was bounced from one provider to another, ultimately allowing her disease to metastasize past the point of no return.

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Other observers, however, predict that momentum has already passed a point of no return and full-scale war is inevitable.

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point of inflection point of order

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