threshold
noun
Did you know?
Whenever you leave your home, walk from one room to another, or enter a building, you are crossing a threshold—that is, the horizontal floor piece that you cross over whenever you move through a doorway. But the earliest uses of threshold refer to a different type of boundary: an Old English translation of Boethius’s De consolatione philosophiae uses the word in a sentence about how the sea was made so that it didn’t overstep the "threshold," or boundary, of the earth. In this translation, which was written around 888, threshold appears as þeorscwold (that first letter is called thorn and it was used in Old English and Middle English to indicate the sounds produced by th in thin and this). The origins of this Old English word are not known, though it is believed to be related to the Old English word threscan, from which we get the words thresh, meaning "to separate seed from (a harvested plant) using a machine or tool" and thrash, meaning, among other things, "to beat soundly with or as if with a stick or whip." But there's nothing in the historical record that directly ties threshing to the threshold.
Examples of threshold in a Sentence
Paul Salopek, National Geographic, April 2008
As we speak, the very worst of humanity is on the threshold of acquiring the most powerful weapons in history—this is a fear and a consideration to be taken very seriously.
—Charles Krauthammer, New Republic, 29 Apr. 2002
We thought that we were on the threshold of an age of space travel. But the greatest impact of the trip to the moon was on how we view the Earth.
—Suzannah Lessard, Wilson Quarterly, Summer 2001
He stepped across the threshold.
If your income rises above a certain threshold, your tax rate also rises.
Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2025
Best unlimited data internet providers in 2025 Many leading internet providers now offer unlimited-data options, either through true no-cap plans or very high thresholds.
—Roxanne Downer, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025
Effectiveness drops sharply with shorter barrels or longer ranges when velocity falls below the fragmentation threshold.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 30 Oct. 2025
If there is a potential for temperatures to fall into these thresholds, a freeze watch may be issued a few days ahead of time.
—Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for threshold
Cite this Entry
“Threshold.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/threshold. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
threshold
noun
Medical Definition
threshold
noun
called also limen
Legal Definition
threshold
1 of 2 noun
threshold
2 of 2 adjectiveNoakes v. City of Seattle, 895 P.2d 842 (1995)
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