# threshold

Pronunciation: say "THRESH-ohld" US /ˈθɹɛʃ(h)oʊld/, UK /ˈθɹɛʃ(h)əʊld/

## Noun

1. A 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.
   - Simple: The amount or level something must reach before something else happens or starts to apply.
   - _Anyone earning above the threshold must pay the higher rate of tax._
   - _The safety shutoff activates only when pressure exceeds the threshold._
2. The 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.
   - Simple: The bottom part of a doorway that you step over, or the doorway itself where you go into a building.
   - _The groom carried his bride across the threshold._
   - _Years of footsteps had worn a groove in the wooden threshold._
3. The starting point or beginning of something, such as a new stage, action, or experience.
   - Simple: The very beginning of something new or important.
   - _The discovery put scientists at the threshold of a major breakthrough._
   - _She felt she was crossing the threshold into adulthood._
4. The point at which a person begins to react to pain, stress, or other irritations.
   - Simple: The point at which something starts to bother or hurt a person.
   - _Athletes often train to raise their pain threshold._
   - _After a long day, my threshold for interruptions drops sharply._
5. Any end or boundary marking the point where something stops.
   - Simple: An edge or limit where one thing ends and another begins.
   - _The river forms a natural threshold between the two regions._
   - _Beyond that ridge lies the threshold of the desert._
6. The beginning of the landing area of a runway, marked for arriving aircraft.
   - Simple: The marked start of the part of a runway where planes can land.
   - _The aircraft touched down a few meters beyond the runway threshold._
   - _The jet crossed the threshold at about fifty feet and touched down smoothly._

## 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."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/threshold (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).