threshold
part of speech
noun (a threshold, thresholds)
meaning for a pupil
1) The strip of wood or stone on the floor at the bottom of a doorway; the point where you enter a room or house. tree →
2) The level or amount at which something starts to happen or change: "a pain threshold", "the threshold for passing". tree →
3) The start or beginning of something new: "on the threshold of a big discovery". tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life you cross the threshold when you step into a house; there is an old custom of a groom carrying the bride over the threshold. In science and maths a threshold is a cut-off number: water boils above a threshold temperature; you pass a test above a threshold mark. In stories "on the threshold of" tells the reader that something big is about to begin. Phrases: cross the threshold, pain threshold, above/below the threshold, on the threshold of.
examples
- She paused on the threshold before stepping inside. tree →
- The dog would not cross the threshold of the new house. tree →
- The pass threshold for the test is 60 marks. tree →
- He has a high pain threshold, so the jab didn't bother him. tree →
- Scientists were on the threshold of a great discovery. tree →
- If the noise goes above the threshold, the alarm sounds. tree →
- Wipe your feet at the threshold. tree →
- And there lies my faithful mastiff at the threshold. tree →
note
Spelling trap: only one "h" in the middle — thresh-old, not "threshhold". Countable. In maths: "above the threshold" means more than the number; check whether the threshold number itself counts (at least 60, or more than 60).
In the corpora
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «threshold» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.