Crossroads
noun /ˈkrɒsrəʊdz/ — A point where paths meet; a moment of decisive choice.
Definition
The physical junction where two or more roads cross; also the most common metaphor for a moment of decisive choice — the point at which your path must commit to one direction.
Beyond the definition
Most great decisions are crossroads decisions. You arrive at them without warning — or you arrive having been pointed there by everything that's come before. The blues tradition put the crossroads at midnight with a deal to be made. The experience is older than that.
Origin & history
Old English, with associations deepened through centuries of folk tradition. The crossroads was a liminal place — between worlds, between territories — where important transactions occurred.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
She stood at a professional crossroads — either choice would close off the other.
The crossroads at midnight has meant the same thing to every culture: a place of transformation.
He'd been at this crossroads before, but the choices were different now.
Synonyms
junction, turning point, fork, watershed
Antonyms
straight path, certainty
Related words
Word in the Wild
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Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Debate at a forest path
Two adults stand at a path junction in dense woods, pointing toward diverging ways leading to light and shadow.
The intersection represents a literal crossroads, serving as an ideal visual metaphor for a decisive moment of choice. The figures arguing for different paths capture the tension inherent in committing one’s future to a single direction while leaving others behind.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration