noun
a line that when crossed permits of no return and typically results in irrevocable commitment
• Syn: ↑Rubicon
• Hypernyms: ↑line, ↑dividing line, ↑demarcation, ↑contrast
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1. : the point in the flight of an aircraft beyond which the remaining fuel will be insufficient for a return to the starting point with the result that the craft must proceed
2. : a critical point (as in development or a course of action) at which turning back or reversal is not possible
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1. Aviation. the point in a flight at which an aircraft will lack sufficient fuel to return to its starting point.
2. the critical point in an undertaking, decision-making process, etc., where one has committed oneself irrevocably to a course of action or policy.
[1940-45]
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point of no return noun
That point on a flight from which one can only go on, for lack of fuel to return (also figurative)
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Main Entry: ↑point
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point of no return,
1. the point in the flight of an aircraft at which it is safer to proceed than to turn back: »
We also figure out the point of no return—the point beyond which we wouldn't have enough gas to turn around and get back (New Yorker).
2. Figurative. a point reached in a course beyond which it is no longer possible to reverse or turn back to an earlier condition: »
The majority of the children have passed the dreaded “point of no return,” in this case medical phraseology for a victim of malnutrition who has become so dehydrated that death is only a matter of time (New York Times).
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noun [singular]
: the time when it becomes no longer possible for you to make a different decision or to return to an earlier place or state
If you've signed the contract, you've already reached the point of no return.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.