threshold
Pluralthresholds
- 1A level, amount, or limit that must be reached or exceeded before something happens, takes effect, or applies, such as the income level at which tax becomes payable.
Anyone earning above the threshold must pay the higher rate of tax.
The safety shutoff activates only when pressure exceeds the threshold.
UsageYou reach, cross or exceed a threshold. Spelled with one h in the middle (not
incorrect: threshhold).Similarlimit, level, cutoff, minimum
Note
In engineering a threshold is the level at which a system's response changes. Usually the response begins once a value reaches or exceeds it, though some systems, such as undervoltage monitors, respond when a value falls below it. Everyday English borrows the same idea for the income level where tax starts and for a pain threshold.
- 2The strip of wood, stone, or metal at the bottom of a doorway, or more generally the doorway or entrance through which one passes into a house or room.
The groom carried his bride across the threshold.
Years of footsteps had worn a groove in the wooden threshold.
UsageYou step over or carry someone across the threshold. Doorstep usually means the step outside the door.
Similardoorway, entrance, sill
Note
The literal sense the others grow from, and its history is underfoot. Old English þresċold comes from the verb that became thresh, which originally meant "to tread." A threshold is the strip a foot crosses, which is why English steps over it and carries brides across it. Doorsill names the same strip.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- The literal doorsill or entrance sense underlies the extended senses. en.wiktionary.org
- Old English þresċold has an etymological connection with the verb that became thresh. en.wiktionary.org
- The ancestral verb originally meant to tread. en.wiktionary.org
- Carrying a bride across the threshold is an established custom. en.wikipedia.org
- 3The starting point or beginning of something, such as a new stage, action, or experience.
The discovery put scientists at the threshold of a major breakthrough.
She felt she was crossing the threshold into adulthood.
UsageUsually on the threshold of or at the threshold of: on the threshold of a breakthrough.
Similarbrink, verge, cusp, edge, dawn
Note
In an article published in 1951, John W. Cline wrote that medicine stood on the threshold of a much greater age. Gandhi's uncle speaks of being at the threshold of death. The image is the doorway sill, stepped onto with the room beyond still unseen.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Gandhi's uncle describes himself as being at the threshold of death. mkgandhi.org
- 4The point at which a person begins to react to pain, stress, or other irritations.
Athletes often train to raise their pain threshold.
After a long day, my threshold for interruptions drops sharply.
UsageCommon in pain threshold. People have a high or low threshold for something.
- 5
- 6The beginning of the landing area of a runway, marked for arriving aircraft.
The aircraft touched down a few meters beyond the runway threshold.
The jet crossed the threshold at about fifty feet and touched down smoothly.
Note
On an airfield the word names the beginning of the runway usable for landing. Threshold markings consist of white stripes, and arriving aircraft are expected to touch down beyond the threshold, not on it. Pilots and controllers treat it as a fixed reference point. That is why it usually appears as runway threshold and goes with the verb cross.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- The threshold is the beginning of the runway usable for landing; painted markings identify its location. faa.gov
- Runway threshold markings consist of white stripes. faasafety.gov
- Arriving aircraft are expected to touch down beyond the threshold. faa.gov
- Pilots and controllers use the threshold as a reference point. faa.gov
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English threschwolde, from Old English þresċold ("doorsill, entryway"), which traces back to Proto-Germanic and ultimately to a root meaning "to thresh," originally "to tread." It is related to words like Swedish tröskel and Icelandic þröskuldur, all meaning "threshold."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Threshold comes from Middle English threschwolde, from Old English þresċold, meaning doorsill or entryway. en.wiktionary.org
- The Old English word derives from Proto-Germanic. en.wiktionary.org
- The Proto-Germanic ancestor derives from a verb meaning to thresh, originally to tread. en.wiktionary.org
- Swedish tröskel and Icelandic þröskuldur are cognates meaning threshold. en.wiktionary.org