Crux Definition in a Sentence
- Top Definitions
- Synonyms
- Quiz
- Related Content
- Examples
- British
- Medical
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun, plural crux·es, cru·ces [kroo-seez]. /ˈkru siz/.
a vital, basic, decisive, or pivotal point: The crux of the trial was his whereabouts at the time of the murder.
a cross.
something that torments by its puzzling nature; a perplexing difficulty.
QUIZ
ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Which of the following words describes "sky blue"?
Origin of crux
1635–45; <Latin: stake, scaffold, or cross used in executions, torment; figurative senses perhaps <New Latin crux (interpretum) (commentators') torment, a difficult passage in a text; cf. crucial
Words nearby crux
Cruveilhier-Baumgarten murmur, Cruveilhier-Baumgarten sign, Cruveilhier-Baumgarten syndrome, Cruveilhier's disease, Cruveilhier's sign, crux, crux ansata, crux of heart, crux of the matter, crux pilorum, Cruyff
Other definitions for crux (2 of 2)
noun, genitive Cru·cis [kroo-sis]. /ˈkru sɪs/. Astronomy.
Origin of Crux
<Latin: a cross
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use crux in a sentence
-
In keeping with the expert consensus on decarbonization, the crux of China's odyssey is electrifying its economy as much as possible, from switching to electric vehicles to using electricity instead of coal for some industrial production.
-
That's the crux of Mulan, in which our heroine realizes, through pretending to be a perfect bride and pretending to be a perfect soldier and failing at both, that gender is ultimately performative.
-
That's the whole crux of the fight that's happening right now with Tik Tok.
-
The crux of this issue is in transitioning away from the view that work gives life meaning and life is about using work to survive, towards a view of living a life that itself is fulfilling and meaningful.
-
It seems like the neighbor cells are the crux, in addition to the encoding neurons themselves, the team explained.
-
The crux of the problem remains on this side of the Pacific.
-
The crux of the matter is not the date of the next elections, but ensuring that elections are free, fair, and clean.
-
That, he says, is at the crux of why Pope Francis wants to train more exorcists.
-
And yet, despite the banter, the crux of the issue is the feasibility of it all.
-
The crux is new representation: of body, of proportion, of aesthetic ideals.
-
The very word (crux) was used among them as a curse, especially in the form ad (malam) crucem.
-
Ah, that was it—that was the crux of the whole matter; and he remembered now that never once had she reproached him with that.
-
Priests are portrayed in adoration of the crux ansata before phallic monuments.
-
Every Sunday morning proved the crux of her experience, and Mrs. Caukins' nerves were correspondingly shaken.
-
The crux of the whole matter is not exhaustion, but a loss of control over the nervous forces.
British Dictionary definitions for crux (1 of 2)
noun plural cruxes or cruces (ˈkruːsiːz)
a vital or decisive stage, point, etc (often in the phrase the crux of the matter)
a baffling problem or difficulty
mountaineering the most difficult and often decisive part of a climb or pitch
a rare word for cross
Word Origin for crux
C18: from Latin: cross
British Dictionary definitions for crux (2 of 2)
noun Latin genitive Crucis (ˈkruːsɪs)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Medical definitions for crux
n. pl. crux•es
A cross or a crosslike structure.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Source: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/crux