threshold

/ˌθrɛʃˈ(h)oʊld/

/ˈθrɛʃhəʊld/

Other forms: thresholds

A threshold is what you step across when you enter a room. A threshold takes you from one place into another, and when you're about to start something new, you're also on a threshold.

A threshold is a point of departure or transition. Graduation can mark a threshold — when you graduate from circus school, you're standing at the threshold of your new career as a trapeze artist. Another kind of threshold is a limit or boundary. If you have a high threshold for pain, you can tolerate a lot of it, and your dentist can drill away without worrying about your squirming and howling.

Definitions of threshold

1. noun

   the starting point for a new state or experience
   “on the threshold of manhood”

   type of:

   beginning, commencement, first, get-go, kickoff, offset, outset, showtime, start, starting time

   the time at which something is supposed to begin
2. noun

   the entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building; the space that a door can close
   synonyms: door, doorway, room access

   types:

   exterior door, outside door

   a doorway that allows entrance to or exit from a building

   back door, back entrance, backdoor

   an entrance at the rear of a building

   Dutch door, half door

   an exterior door divided in two horizontally; either half can be closed or open independently

   front door, front entrance

   exterior door (at the entrance) at the front of a building

   side door, side entrance

   an exterior door at one side of a building

   type of:

   entrance, entranceway, entree, entry, entryway

   something that provides access (to get in or get out)
3. noun

   the sill of a door; a horizontal piece of wood or stone that forms the bottom of a doorway and offers support when passing through a doorway
   synonyms: doorsill, doorstep

   type of:

   sill

   structural member consisting of a continuous horizontal timber forming the lowest member of a framework or supporting structure
4. noun

   a region marking a boundary
   synonyms: brink, verge

   type of:

   bound, boundary, edge

   a line determining the limits of an area
5. noun

   the smallest detectable sensation
   synonyms: limen

   types:

   absolute threshold

   the lowest level of stimulation that a person can detect

   difference limen, difference threshold, differential limen, differential threshold

   the smallest change in stimulation that a person can detect

   pain threshold

   the lowest intensity of stimulation at which pain is experienced

   jnd, just-noticeable difference

   (psychophysics) the difference between two stimuli that (under properly controlled experimental conditions) is detected as often as it is undetected

   type of:

   aesthesis, esthesis, sensation, sense datum, sense experience, sense impression

   an unelaborated elementary awareness of stimulation