Definition

1. Noun:
   • An intersection where two or more roads cross: A physical place where roads meet and cross, typically forming a four-way intersection.
   • A point where a crucial decision must be made: A critical juncture in a situation, process, or life where a choice will determine the future course.
   • A decisive or critical point in time: A moment of crisis or opportunity that requires action.
   • A small, centralized community: A small settlement, often at a road intersection, that is smaller than a village.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Physical Intersection):
  • Turn left at the next crossroads.
  • The accident happened at a busy crossroads.
• Noun (Critical Decision Point):
  • Our company is at a crossroads; we must decide whether to expand or cut costs.
  • Standing at a personal crossroads, she had to choose between two very different career paths.
• Noun (Critical Point in Time):
  • The peace negotiations have reached a critical crossroads.
• Noun (Small Community):
  • He grew up in a tiny crossroads in the countryside.

Advanced Usage

• "to be at a crossroads": To be at a point where an important decision must be made, often one that will change the future direction.
  • After graduating, I felt I was at a crossroads in my life.

Variants and Related Words

• Crossing (n): A place where things, especially roads or paths, cross. (e.g., ).
• Intersection (n): A point where two or more things, especially roads, intersect. (More formal synonym for the physical meaning).
• Juncture (n): A particular point in time or a stage in a process, especially one involving a crisis or decision. (Formal synonym for the figurative meaning).

Synonyms

• For the physical intersection: Intersection, junction, crossing.
• For the decision point: Turning point, critical juncture, decisive moment, crisis.

Related Phrases

• A fork in the road: An idiom with a very similar meaning to the figurative use of 'crossroads', indicating a point where a choice between two paths must be made.

Noun

1. a point where a choice must be made
   • Freud's work stands at the crossroads between psychology and neurology
2. a crisis situation or point in time when a critical decision must be made
   • at that juncture he had no idea what to do
   • he must be made to realize that the company stands at a critical point
3. a community of people smaller than a village